Stowaways
by StormWolf10
Summary: Spaceport AU. Theta Sigma had always dreamed of travelling the stars, but life on Astor seems determined to get in the way. However, when he takes matters into his own hands and plans to flee on a steamliner, the last thing he expected to do was get his best friend Donna and her younger sister Rose muddled up in it...
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Partially inspired by Disney's 'Treasure Planet' (I partially based Theta on the character of Jim Hawkins), this is a spaceport AU. Not sure how it will be received, so, yeah… Read and review!**

Stealth. It was an acquired skill. It required attentiveness, speed, agility. All things that the brown-haired teenager hiding behind a barrel had. His brown eyes were narrowed as he surveyed the scene in front of him, watching the hustle and bustle of the spaceport, calculating the moves of the dock workers as they loaded up the ships. The entire process intrigued the teen, that was obvious by the way his eyes, although narrowed, glinted as he took in every possible detail. He seemed obsessed. Eyes flicking to two dock workers as they walked past chatting, the teen took a deep breath and ran, his long, lean body virtually bent double as he ducked behind another barrel, this one a little closer to the edge of the port. A small smile graced his lips as he watched the events in front of him.

"Theta Sigma!"

The teenager- Theta- froze, wide-eyed, and whipped round, getting to his feet quickly.

"Donna! What are you doing here?" he asked, brow furrowing.

He could hear the perplexed voices of dock workers behind him, and his shoulders slumped.

"What am _I_ doing here?" Donna Noble hollered angrily, glaring at her best friend as she folded her arms across her chest.

Theta winced. Stealth. His best friend Donna Noble most certainly _didn't_ have it.

"What are you doing here?" Donna continued angrily. "You're breaking every rule, Theta, and now you're getting me in trouble! If the Authorities get called, you're the one explaining to my Gramps why I was arrested."

Theta was gaping, mouth opening and closing as he grappled for a response.

"Now come _on_," Donna told him, tugging him by his hand towards the entrance of the spaceport. "It looks like some of the dock workers are working up to calling security.

A glance over his shoulder confirmed what Donna had just told him, as several angry-looking dock workers gathered together, pointing and gesturing furiously after the two teenagers. Although they were already far enough away that they couldn't hear what was being said- or perhaps, yelled- it was almost certain that they were discussing getting the Authorities involved. Underage citizens weren't allowed in the spaceports, there was too much worry about they'd see it as a giant playground, get too close to the ships whilst the heat shields and sensors were down for repairs, that they'd hide somewhere to watch the ships take off, get too close and be burnt by the flames from the engines. The ships were steam and heat powered, efficient but dangerous, and that sort of danger attracted daring- and stupid- kids. Of course, they got in, they always found a way. They usually got in the same way Theta had gotten in; there was a section of fence behind one of the warehouses where the security force field didn't quite reach high enough, that could be jumped as long as you had a decent anti-grav hoverboard, which Theta did. Soon, Theta ducked behind a pile of broken cargo boxes and returned to Donna's side with his trusted- but battered- metallic blue hoverboard in hand. Donna rolled her eyes and all but dragged him out of the gates, giving the security guard an awkward smile. The security guard took one look at the pair of them and shook his head, shaggy black hair bobbing as he did so. The security guard had seen them come in and out countless times, and had given up reprimanding them a long time ago, instead just shaking his head at them. As soon as they were out of the spaceport, Donna grabbed Theta and dragged him down an alley.

"What the hell were you _thinking_, Spaceman?!" Donna demanded angrily the moment they were in the alley. "One of these days they're gonna have you arrested! Or you're gonna get yourself killed! The Home won't keep taking you back, and then what, hmm? You'll be on the streets!"

Theta responded only by staring down at his scuffed-up black boots. He was vaguely aware of the fact the silver buckles needed polishing.

"_Theta_," Donna ground out between clenched teeth, causing the Doctor to look up. "You can't keep breaking in to the spaceport!"

"I didn't break in," Theta sniffed, hand going up to rub at the back of his neck. "There was no 'breaking' of any of the perimeter fence."

"Oi! Don't get smart with me!" Donna snapped, glaring. "You _know_ the Home won't keep letting you back in, not when there's a risk that the younger kids will follow your lead. You broke the law, Theta! You _know_ underage citizens aren't allowed in the spaceport!"

"But I'm not underage, not really!" Theta protested, wide-eyed.

"Yes, you are, Theta. You're fifteen. Your birthday may only be a week away, but until you actually turn sixteen, _you_ are underage!" Donna told him, her anger rising again.

"Uh… Guys?"

Both Theta and Donna turned towards the voice.

"Rose! What are you doing here?" Donna asked, hurrying over to her younger sister.

"You said you wouldn't be long," Rose replied, wide-eyed, "but it's been ages! Gramps was getting worried."

Donna sighed.

"I didn't mean to be so long," Donna told her sister, pulling her in for a hug, "had to get Spaceman here out of trouble."

"I wasn't _in_ trouble, Red," Theta responded, using his nickname for Donna.

Donna snorted softly, and Rose giggled.

"Were you in the spaceport again?" Rose asked eagerly, pulling away from Donna to look up at Theta.

Theta grinned and nodded before running a hand through his spiky brown hair.

"Course I was!" Theta announced happily, before bounding over to Rose and leaning close to the twelve year old to whisper conspiratorially: "And I watched them load a steamliner."

Rose's eyes went wide, and Donna could be heard huffing in the background.

"Don't, Theta," Donna said quickly, frowning at her friend as she tugged her sister back towards her, "you know what she'll get like."

"I was just telling her what I saw," Theta shrugged.

Donna, however, shook her head. Theta sighed, turning away to pick up his hoverboard, which he'd abandoned against the wall of the alley.

"We'd best be getting back now," Donna announced suddenly, surprised when Theta nodded in agreement, "else Gramps will be sending out a search party."

As the three kids began making their way out of the alley and towards the town, Rose talked animatedly to Theta.

"Donna said you wanna leave Astor when you're old enough. Is that true?"

Theta nodded.

"Oh, yes!" he grinned. "I'm gonna leave Astor as soon as I'm sixteen, I've already applied for a position on a steamliner! There's so much more to see, Rose, so much more than this stupid little town and its spaceport! The Universe is out there waiting for us, waiting to be explored. Astor's a tiny little rock compared to some of the other planets out there, and I'm determined to see them!"

"I wanna come!" Rose blurted suddenly.

Both Donna and Theta stopped walking, and they looked down at the twelve year old girl between them.

"I mean, when I'm old enough," Rose corrected hastily, hazel eyes wide. "Will you come back for me, Theta? Come back and show me the stars?"

Theta glanced at Donna, who just looked back sadly at him. They both knew that Rose struggled with people leaving her. She always had done. She'd come to Donna's family as a three year old wrapped in a scratchy grey blanket and clutching a battered wolf toy. Donna's parents had taken her in, adopted her, clothed her, cared for her. Donna had only been six, but she'd remembered Rose crying every night, missing her parents. The crying had only stopped when Donna had gotten out of her bed and slipped into Rose's. Things had gone from bad to worse four years ago when their parents had been killed in a hovercar collision. Donna and Rose had been taken in by their Granddad, who ran the town's inn. The family home had been sold and they'd moved in to the inn, helping out after school and on weekends. And now Theta was almost of age, almost ready to get off the blasted rock called Astor that was their home. Theta and Donna had been friends since nursery, and Rose could never remember him not being around. So, with a deep breath, Theta forced a grin and nodded.

"Course I will, Cub. You and me, seeing the stars. And Donna, if she promises not to boss us about too much!"

Donna rolled her eyes and Rose giggled again.

**~StormWolf10~**

The majority of the rest of the walk home was spent with Rose trying to wrestle Theta's hoverboard out of his hands, begging for him to give her 'just one go!', insisting that she'd 'be very careful'. Soon, however, they'd reached Donna's and Rose's Granddad's inn- the Shooting Star-, and the old man was waiting outside for them.

"There are my girls!" Wilf announced happily as Rose came bounding over to hug him.

"Sorry it took so long, Gramps," Donna told her Granddad, giving him a one-arm hug, "I had to get _this_ idiot out of trouble again."

She gestured over her shoulder at Theta, and Wilf grinned.

"Been hanging around the spaceport again, huh, boy?" Wilf asked knowingly.

Theta grinned and nodded.

"Well you be careful to keep yourself out of trouble," Wilf told him, suddenly stern. "You're almost of age, and you don't wanna be spending it in jail."

"I'm always careful," Theta responded, flashing Wilf a grin. "Anyway, I'd better get back to the Home now."

Wilf nodded, and Rose and Donna waved as they disappeared into the inn.

**~StormWolf10~**

The Home was just that; a Childrens home. Theta hated it, mostly because of its stupid rules like 'no staying out past 9pm', and 'no friends round without consent'. He found it ridiculous. With a sigh, he trudged up the wooden staircase to his room, abandoning his hoverboard just inside his bedroom door. He'd missed dinner, he knew that for certain, and a quick glance in the mirror told him they wouldn't have let him at the dining table anyway; his white shirt, sleeves rolled up to just below his elbows, was streaked with dirt and grime from the spaceport, as were his burgundy Jodhpur breeches. His chunky black belt hung loosely- and a little lopsidedly- on his hips, and his brown waistcoat was frayed around the edges. Quite frankly, he looked a mess. With a sigh, Theta flopped onto the bed and tugged his boots off. Laying back on the bed, something caught his eye on the ceiling, and he grinned. It was a map. A map of the planets and star constellations surrounding Astor. Places he planned to visit as soon as he was legal age. It had been his dream for as long as he'd been in the Home, and he'd been in the home since he was two. His parents had abandoned him, although he'd heard rumours his father had worked at the spaceport. His desire to see the stars had nothing to do with his father's apparent occupation, however. Theta did not care about what his parents would think about him, they clearly wanted nothing to do with him, and that didn't bother him. No. He wasn't going to travel the stars to make his parents proud, he was going to do it because he wanted to. At some point, Theta's eyes had drifted shut, but a sudden knock on the door had him jerking into an upright position.

"Theta?"

The voice of Harriet Jones, the Home's manager came through the door. Theta sighed.

"Yeah?" he called back.

The door swung open, and Harriet stepped into the room. She was a middle-aged woman with shoulder-length brown hair, and a worried look in her eyes. She was closely followed by a tall man with short dark hair and a clipboard. Alex, if Theta was correct. Harriet's assistant manager. Theta swallowed.

"We need to have a talk."

**~StormWolf10~**

"Don't be stupid, Rose!"

"Don't call me stupid! 'M not a little kid!"

Wilfred Mott blinked as Rose came storming out from the private part of the inn. The twelve year old girl stormed straight through the inn, not caring about its patrons, and flung herself onto a plush sofa, folding her arms across her chest and pouting. Moments later, Donna came storming through, her jaw set and fiery red hair flying behind her.

"Gramps, tell her!" Donna demanded, pointing furiously at Rose, who appeared to be glaring at the stone fireplace.

Wilf blinked again, not sure what to say. A bloke across the bar chuckled.

"Family problems, Wilf?" the man asked wryly.

Wilf rolled his eyes and nodded.

"Got it in one," Wilf sighed. "I'll be back in a few minutes."

Wilf then slipped out from behind the bar, crossing over to his Granddaughters.

"Now, what's up with you two?" he asked with a sigh, sitting on the opposite sofa to Rose.

"Donna said I was bein' stupid 'cause I wanna travel with Theta." Rose mumbled.

"Rose, women don't work on the freight ships, or the steamliners!" Donna groaned.

"I don't care! I wanna go! I don't wanna be stuck here!" Rose complained.

"Now, Rose," Wilf began carefully, "you're only twelve-"

"Exactly!" Donna interrupted in annoyance. "You're twelve! You still sleep with that blasted wolf toy and blanket! You wouldn't last five minutes off of Astor!"

"Donna!" Wilf chided his older Granddaughter as Rose's lower lip began to wobble. Seeing that tears were threatening to fall, Wilf moved to sit beside the twelve year old, brushing her blonde hair out of her eyes. "Donna does have a point though, sweetheart."

Rose's eyes narrowed.

"But Theta said he'd come back for me! He doesn't think I'm being stupid. And he doesn't treat me like a child!" Rose protested, glaring at Donna.

"He calls you 'Cub'!" Donna snorted. "You know why he does that? Because you're a little kid! You're a wolf cub!"

Rose's eyes went wide, the pain evident in them, and Donna immediately felt guilty. But, before she could apologise to her little sister, Rose was excusing herself, muttering something about being tired and wanting to go to bed.

**~StormWolf10~**

Wilf sighed, watching his two granddaughters leave the inn, heading back into the private quarters to go to bed. Donna was hurrying after Rose, seemingly intent on apologising, but Wilf wasn't sure it would do much good. Rose was an outcast, just like Donna and just like Theta. Theta was an outcast because he lived in the Home, because he always- as his teachers had put it- had his head in the stars. Donna was an outcast because, ever since she'd lost her parents, she'd devoted much of her free time to either helping Wilf at the inn or keeping an eye on Theta. She'd grown distant from many of her old friends. And Rose, Rose just didn't fit in. She was like Theta, in so many ways. Too many ways. Like Donna's best friend, Rose had her head in the stars, but when the teachers had told Wilf about that, it had been more in disgust than the slightly resigned amusement of when they said it about Theta. Because, Rose was obsessed with leaving Astor, of getting off the planet and seeing places, _going places_. But that wasn't feasible. Because Rose was a girl, growing rapidly into a young woman, and as a young woman her job would be to learn a trade, be it helping in an inn, a bakers', a school. Then, she would be married off, and her job would be to become a wife, a mother, raise a family. Wilf couldn't help but smirk slightly at that as he changed the barrel of the lager. He couldn't ever imagine his youngest granddaughter being content just being a wife. Donna, possibly- no matter how loud and argumentative the older girl could be, she'd resigned herself to the lifestyle, given up pushing the boundaries and trying to find a way to live her life the way she truly wanted it- but Rose, never. Donna was nearing legal age just like Theta, and in just a few weeks, she'd be legally recognised as an adult. In just a few weeks, Wilf realised, it would be time to find a suitable young man to marry his eldest granddaughter off to. She'd grown up so fast, and it scared Wilf to think that Donna was almost ready to begin her own family. Rose would follow, in just a few years, if she didn't put up too much of a fight. But it would be harder to find a suitor for Rose; she was the talk of the town- hell, she was probably the talk of Astor- because she was so rebellious. She wasn't a horrid child, far from it, she was compassionate and caring, but many viewed her as selfish as she would rather travel the stars than bring new life into the Universe. No prospective suitor would want to be tasked with having to knock the fight out of the girl, of having to destroy the hope in her soul that she could- maybe, just maybe- get off Astor and live how she wanted to live. At the age of twelve, she wouldn't even wear girl's clothes. It was something they'd been able to get away with in her younger years, people chalking it up to the girl being abandoned, of her trying to be like Theta. But when she'd hit eleven and was still insisting on wearing boy's clothes… Well, there'd been uproar. There were many people who had told Wilf to beat it out of her, that she was now a young woman, that she should wear the peasant's blouse and corset top that other young women her age were wearing. But Wilf had argued his granddaughter's case, insisting she was still just a child, that by the time she was legal age, she'd grow out of it. That had been a year ago, and Rose was still wearing the Jodhpur breeches, loose white shirt, waistcoat and boots that the young men of Astor wore. All of Rose's were grey, dark grey breeches and a grey waistcoat. She wouldn't wear anything else. Wilf supposed that was the real reason that Theta referred to her as a wolf cub, along with her still being quite small for her age- many of the off-worlders who came to the inn while their steamliners were fixed up and restocked mistaked her for a ten or eleven year old. With a sigh, Wilf glanced at the clock. A few more hours until closing time. He couldn't hear the girls arguing, so he just hoped they were alright.

**~StormWolf10~**

"What do you mean they refused my application?!" Theta demanded angrily.

He was on his feet, pacing his bedroom. Harriet was watching him with concern in her eyes, Alex watching warily in case he lashed out.

"I mean they wouldn't accept you, Theta," Harriet repeated gently, tone apologetic. "I'm sorry, but the Captain of the steamliner rejected your application after realising just how many times you'd broken into the spaceport."

"It wasn't breaking in." Theta muttered under his breath, eyes narrowing.

"Be that as it may," Alex broke in seriously, "I doubt any other steamliners will accept your application. I highly doubt you'll be able to get a job off Astor. However, there are many people who would be willing to take you on here-"

"What?!" Theta asked incredulously, wide-eyed.

"There are many people willing to offer you a job here on Astor," Alex repeated calmly. "Wilfred Mott, for example. I'm sure he'd be more than happy to let you help out at the Shooting Star Inn. You spend a good deal of your time with his granddaughters anyway."

Something in Alex's expression shifted as he continued speaking.

"And his eldest granddaughter, Donna, she's almost legal age. Almost time for her to be married off…"

Theta gaped. Then snorted.

"You can't be serious?" he asked Alex, half-amused and half-astounded. "Me and Donna? No thanks! We're, we're just friends!"

Alex cocked an eyebrow and glanced at Harriet, who merely shrugged.

"Well, perhaps not Donna," Alex conceded after a few moments. "But you're almost legal age. And if you are staying on Astor, that will mean finding a job and making an honest woman of a suitable young lady."

"And if I don't want to get married?" Theta asked.

Again, Alex and Harriet shared a look.

"We'll leave you to think about it," Harriet told him suddenly, as she and Alex moved for the door. "We'll discuss it again tomorrow morning."

Theta glared at them as they left. Moments later, he was alone in his room. He waited until their footsteps had faded down the corridor and, making sure his bedroom door was firmly shut, grabbed the knapsack from beneath his bed. He threw in some clothes, some books, and the map that had been pinned to his bedroom ceiling. Then, pulling his boots on and grabbing his hoverboard, Theta made for the window. Within moments, he was gone.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: In which the plot begins…**

Wilfred Mott was just locking up the Shooting Star Inn for the night, the few guests the inn had already tucked up in the rented rooms above while Donna and Rose were presumably fast asleep in the private part of the inn, when there was a knock on the door. Wilf blinked, and turned slowly to the door. There was another knock. Brow furrowed, he hurried to unlock the door and open it. He was met with a worried-looking Harriet Jones.

"Ah," Wilf said, still confused, "hello, Harriet. How can I help? It _is_ quite late, you know."

"I know, and I can only apologise for calling at this horrid hour," Harriet told him, making her way inside, "but I simply didn't know where else to look."

"Look?" Wilf echoed.

Harriet nodded.

"I'm afraid young Theta Sigma has run off," Harriet explained. "I had wondered if he'd come here to see your granddaughters."

"Not that I'm aware of," Wilf responded, "but if you come with me, we can check. The girls are in bed, but I wouldn't be surprised if they let him climb through their window."

Harriet nodded, and Wilf led her through to the privately-owned part of the inn. It wasn't massive, just a sitting room, small kitchen-diner, bathroom and two bedrooms, all on one level. They needed all the rooms above to rent, to make money. Wilf knocked on his granddaughters' bedroom door.

"Girls? Are you awake?" Wilf called through the door.

They heard Donna call back an affirmative, and Wilf opened the door. The room was in darkness, but the light from the hallway fell across the bare wooden floorboards, illuminating a sliver of the room, just enough to see by.

"I don't suppose either of you have heard from Theta since he went back to the Home?" Wilf asked, attempting to remain casual.

"Why?" Donna asked, sitting up in bed. "What's he done this time?"

"Well, it's just…" Wilf began, uncertain how to respond.

"I'm afraid Theta has gone missing," Harriet spoke up, stepping into the room.

At that, Rose sat up in bed as well, brow furrowed and blonde hair mussed up.

"What d'ya mean 'missing'?" Rose slurred tiredly.

"We have reason to believe he ran away," Harriet admitted with a deep breath. "We had to inform him when he got home that his application for a position on a steamliner was rejected."

"Why?" Rose and Donna demanded in unison.

"Everyone at the spaceport knows him, knows he breaks in. Everyone on Astor knows. It's just by sheer luck that no one's ever pressed charges on him. He's broken the law, and the captain of the steamliner didn't want a troublemaker in his crew," Harriet informed them.

"But that's not fair! He never _really_ broke in!" Donna protested, on her feet and tugging her dressing gown on. "If they didn't want kids getting in, they should've fixed the perimeter fence, they knew how he kept getting in!"

"Donna, it was Theta's decision to keep breaking in," Harriet pointed out.

Both Donna and Rose glared at the woman. Harriet ignored them.

"Now, if you see Theta, please tell him to come back to the Home," Harriet told them, before glancing at Wilf. "I'll see myself out."

And with that, Harriet was gone. The room was filled with an awful silence.

"Well," Wilf began in a forcefully cheery tone, "I doubt Theta's gone far. Probably taken off on his hoverboard to brood for a while before he turns up again, pretending nothing's wrong."

"Why?" Rose asked sharply, glaring up at her Granddad and shocking both him and Donna. "Why do you think he'd just gonna turn up and pretend everything's fine?"

"Well, that's what he always does, sweetheart," Wilf pointed out with a frown. "That time his teachers told him off for sketching hoverboard designs rather than doing his literature essay; the first time he got caught trespassing at the spaceport; the time he and Donna had that big argument."

Donna snorted at that, and Rose rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, but those things weren't going to dictate his future, were they?" Rose responded in annoyance. "If he can't get a position on a steamliner, he can't get off of Astor. And if he can't get off of Astor, he'll be left here! And then what?"

"Well, he'll have to settle down if that's the case," Wilf responded, brow still furrowed. "He'll have to find a job here on Astor. He'll probably get married, have a family…"

"But he doesn't want that!" Rose interrupted.

"Rose, Theta won't have a choice, if he can't get off Astor he'll have to settle down." Wilf responded.

Rose glared, and muttered something under her breath. Wilf sighed, gaze flitting to Donna, who was still on her feet.

"Now," he continued, "you two need to settle down and go to sleep, it's late."

**~StormWolf10~**

Half an hour later, once Rose and Donna were certain Wilf had finished locking up and had turned in himself, they sat up in bed.

"What are we gonna do about Theta?" Rose asked her older sister.

"Oh, you're talking to me again now?" Donna asked, eyebrow raised.

Rose shrugged, looking away across the room.

"Until we find Theta, yeah," the stubborn twelve year old responded.

Rose didn't see Donna roll her eyes at that.

"Come on then," Donna sighed, getting to her feet and beginning to pull her clothes from earlier on.

"Where are we going?" Rose asked in confusion, beginning to follow her sister's lead.

"To get Theta. If he didn't come here, there's only one other place he'd have gone," Donna responded.

Moments later, the two girls were climbing out their window.

**~StormWolf10~**

Theta threw his knapsack over the lip of the boat. He heard a _thunk_ as it dropped to the deck, and carefully proceeded to slide his hoverboard over. Once his stuff was onboard, he clambered up into the steamliner himself, getting to his feet and dusting himself down. The ship he'd picked to stow away on had had virtually no security, and looked a little rundown, but it would probably do its job of getting him off Astor. It was tethered to the end of the port, almost like it had been forgotten about, and it didn't appear to be undergoing repairs or restocking although the crew were strangely absent. He scanned the deck, and had just spotted the perfect place to stow away when a familiar voice cut through the air.

"What the hell are you playing at, Spaceman?!"

With a groan, he turned to see Donna awkwardly clambering over and into the ship.

"Donna!" Theta moaned. "Why are you here? Go home!"

"Not without you," Donna responded angrily. "You do realise Harriet came to the inn to see if we'd hidden you in our wardrobe!"

"How did you know I was here?" Theta asked, folding his arms.

"You always come here. If you're not at the inn with us, you're here."

Theta groaned at the other familiar voice, looking over to see Rose clambering onto the ship.

"You brought Rose with you?" he asked Donna, frowning. "What happened to you telling me off just 'cause I said I saw a steamliner being loaded? So you can bring her here but I can't?"

Donna rolled her eyes.

"We've come to take you back, Theta. You're being an idiot," Donna told him.

"I'm being intuitive," Theta responded calmly. "I'm getting off this blasted rock, making a life for myself."

"Just come back, Theta," Rose begged, stepping forward. "I'm sure we can work something out. You could start off just working in the docks, work your way up to joining a ship!"

"They won't take me, Rose!" Theta shot back in annoyance, hands going to his hair. "Not after all the times I apparently 'broke in'."

Donna opened her mouth to respond, probably already having a retort on the tip of her tongue, about how she'd always told him it wouldn't go well, but then suddenly, there were footsteps. The three kids all spun round to face the wide wooden plank that led to the dock. None of them had come onto the ship that way purely because of how exposed it was, how much risk there was that others on the spaceport would have caught them sneaking on board. Which meant only one thing; if people were coming up that way, it meant they weren't bothered about being seen. It meant they were the ship's crew.

"Hide!" Theta hissed, grabbing his knapsack and hoverboard, pushing Donna and Rose towards the narrow ladder leading into the depths of the ship. Theta had barely shut the doors behind them when they heard the crew of the ship come up onto the deck.

"We ready to go, Captain?" a male asked.

"Just about," another man- presumably, the Captain- responded, "Toshiko, have we stocked up?"

"It was done earlier, Captain," a voice replied.

Rose's eyes widened, and she looked up at Theta and Donna who looked just as shocked. The voice belonged to a woman.

"Well then," the Captain continued, "we'll do one last check of the ship and then we'll set sail. Can't be hanging around too long, else we might be sighted."

The voices faded, and Theta frowned. He could only presume the crew had headed off to do one last check of the ship, as the Captain had told them to. He just hoped no one came down to where they were hiding, which seemed to be the galley.

"We have to get you two out of here before they find you," Theta hissed to Donna and Rose.

"And you," Rose responded.

Theta, however, shook his head.

"What do you mean no?!" Donna hissed back angrily.

"I'm almost legal age, Donna, if I can stay hidden for the next six days, they won't be able to send me back to Astor, I won't be a minor. This could be my only chance." Theta responded, eyes glinting with excitement.

Donna scoffed.

"But you're not legal age yet!" she pointed out. "Besides, by that token, we could say that if I stayed hidden for the next two months, they couldn't send me back!"

"Donna, it's not the same!" Theta snapped, although he kept his voice low. "You and Rose, you're females-"

Donna clapped slowly, sarcastically.

"Well done, Spaceman. It's only taken you, what, twelve years to suss it out?"

Rose rolled her eyes as the two older kids glared each other down.

"We don't have time for this!" Rose muttered, wide-eyed.

"Exactly!" Theta announced quickly. "At least Rose is seeing sense. You two need to go home, you have your Granddad here, I have no one. And as I said, you're females. You have lives to lead, back on Astor."

"What's that meant to mean?" Rose demanded suddenly, beginning to realise what Theta was hinting at.

"Rose, you'll have a life to lead on Astor," Theta informed her, ducking slightly to her level. "In a few more years, you'll be recognised as an adult, you'll learn a trade, such as baking, or teaching, or sewing. You will be married off to a respectable man who I'm sure you'll love, and you'll start a family. That will be your life. As it is, Donna's almost ready to settle down, move out and start a family. You're a young woman, that's what you have to do."

"But I don't want to! I want to come travelling with you! You said I could, you promised!" Rose told him, tears welling in her eyes.

Theta looked away for a few moments before speaking again.

"I'm sorry, but you two were never going to have the life I will. I… You know I was never going to conform to whatever twisted ideas everyone on Astor decided were appropriate social ideals. But you two… You two have to go back, become respectable women and raise a family. That's your job, that's your purpose…" Theta gestured around him at the ship they were hiding in. "And this, is mine."

The next thing he knew, his cheek was stinging. Shocked tears sprung to his eyes as he cradled his cheek.

"You slapped me!"

"Too bloody right I did!" Rose responded quickly, glaring at him.

"Rose, I'm sorry if I upset you, but that's how life is-" Theta began.

Moments later, his other cheek was stinging.

"Donna!" Theta complained.

Donna shrugged, glaring at him.

"What was that about our purpose in life is to pop out children?" Donna asked snidely.

Theta groaned.

"Look, I didn't mean it like that, but you know what it's like on Astor!" Theta protested quickly. "It's what's expected of you!"

"Not me!" Rose piped up quickly, somewhat proudly.

Theta glanced at her.

"Actually, everyone was hoping you'd outgrow this… Odd stage in your life." Theta admitted.

"What do you-" Rose began.

But before she could finish, the ship lurched, sending Theta, Rose and Donna crashing to the floor. Somehow, Theta ended up on top of Rose, and he scrambled off her quickly, wide-eyed.

"What was that?!" Donna demanded worriedly.

"That was the ship de-docking." Theta murmured.

"You mean…" Rose began warily.

"We've left Astor. We're stowaways."


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: In which Wilf realises he's missing two granddaughters and Donna reveals something she shouldn't to Rose…**

"I'm never gonna get married. I'll refuse."

Both Donna and Theta looked over at Rose. They'd moved from the main galley into an unused side room, which appeared to be nothing more than a glorified cupboard. Rose was half-asleep now, and they had no idea how long they'd been on the ship, but they were pretty sure in was nearing dawn.

"I'm not sure you'll have a choice, Rose," Donna told her little sister tiredly. "We'll be married off whether we like it or not. That's how life is on Astor."

"That would count on whether there's anyone her teachers think she'd be suitable for," Theta pointed out.

"What happens if there's not?" Rose asked, slightly eager.

Theta's brow furrowed, and he shrugged.

"Dunno," Donna spoke. "Not sure it's ever happened."

"Why not?" Rose asked, frowning.

"Well," Theta chuckled, "they've never had to marry off anyone as stubborn as you before!"

Rose smiled slightly, but it faded again as they descended into an uncomfortable silence. After a few minutes, it was broken.

"Earlier," Rose began uncertainly, looking over at Theta, "earlier you said that people on Astor we expecting me to outgrow this 'odd stage' in my life. What did you mean by that?"

Theta glanced at Donna for help, but the girl merely raised an eyebrow at him.

"Go on," she told him, tone cold.

Swallowing, Theta looked back to Rose, who was waiting patiently for an answer.

"Everyone on Astor… They thought that you were the way you are because of what happened to your parents. They thought that you'd realised you had no parents, and that _I_ had no parents, and started trying to copy me. That's why you got away with wearing boys' clothes for so long, Rose, everyone thought you'd grow out of it, realise that your job on Astor was to have children and get over your obsession with the spaceport. It was only when you hit eleven, last year, and still insisted on dressing like a boy that… That people began to wonder if there was something…"

Theta trailed off, looking at Donna. He was going too far, he knew he was, and Donna's expression said it all.

"Something what?" Rose hinted, sitting up straighter, her earlier tiredness seeming to melt away.

"Nothing," Theta responded as Donna shook her head.

"It doesn't matter, Rose. Gramps never believed them, and neither did I or Theta. It doesn't matter," Donna told her sister.

"_What_ doesn't matter?" Rose asked again, growing annoyed. "Why won't you just tell me? You say that it doesn't matter, that it's nothing, so why won't you just tell me?!"

"Because we don't want to upset you!" Donna snapped angrily.

"You just said it didn't matter!" Rose pointed out, voice rising to match her sister's. "If it doesn't matter, why would it upset me?!"

Theta was wide-eyed, watching the two sisters argue, Rose demanding to know what people back on Astor had said about her, Donna refusing to answer. He'd known the pair of them for years, he knew how loud they could get when they fought, had seen them kick and bite and scratch at each other when they were younger, knew that neither of them would back down. Of course, Donna was older now, nearly of age, and Theta was almost certain that she wouldn't stoop to such a level as kicking and biting now that she was fifteen. Slapping, however, Theta was less certain about.

"Guys," he warned them, keeping his voice low, "calm down! We're gonna get caught!"

Theta knew he could easily take on some of the crew himself, but Donna and Rose couldn't, even if they were good at slapping. The girls, however, ignored him.

"Just tell me, Donna! I'm old enough to know! What did they say about me? It was probably petty rubbish anyway!"

Theta could see Donna getting angrier, more upset, more desperate to find a way out of the situation without spilling all to Rose. But then, she snapped.

"People thought there was something wrong with you!"

The tension hung thick in the air as a deathly silence blanketed their little glorified cupboard space. Theta held his breath, watching the two sisters and unsure whether to move, to intervene, or to stay perfectly still. Like an opossum, playing dead. It was safer, he decided, to stay where he was.

Rose's eyes had gone wide, her mouth gaping, moving ever so slightly as she tried to form words, tried to respond. But she couldn't. Donna was looking equally upset, downtrodden and heartbroken that she'd just had to tell that to her sister, let alone yell it at her while they were trapped in a cupboard with no way back to their home.

"Right…" Rose responded slowly after a long minute.

Then, she slumped backwards, shoulders down, the fight knocked out of her. She stared straight ahead, not acknowledging either Theta or Donna, even as they called her name, moved closer, tried to comfort her. She flinched as Donna placed a hand on her shoulder, and Donna pulled back, as if burnt.

"I'm sorry, Rose," Donna sighed, "Gramps made me swear not to tell you, he said it was for the best."

"Who said it?"

Rose's voice was quiet, barely audible, but Theta and Donna still heard it.

"Lots of people," Donna admitted after a while, her voice equally as quiet. "Mr McAvoy the baker, Miss Shaw, Mr Sullivan, loads of the guys who come to the inn…"

"Anyone at school?"

Theta and Donna shared a look, before nodding in unison.

"Nerys, but she's a bitch anyway," Donna told Rose, earning a weak smile from her sister. It was no secret that, while Nerys and Donna had known each other for years, and had often gone to the market together, they hated each other.

"Adam," Theta added softly, "and those off-world twins that don't really talk to anyone. A load of the kids in the Home…"

The list went on. Rose swallowed, willing back the tears that threatened to fall.

"Everyone, then," Rose concluded after a few minutes of Donna and Theta listing people, people Rose had thought had liked her. She'd evidently been wrong.

"I'm so, so sorry, Rose," Theta told her quietly.

Rose just sniffed. The trio fell into another awkward silence as Rose brought her knees up and hid her face from view.

"I'm gonna sneak out, grab some food for breakfast before the crew get up," Theta announced suddenly. "You two want anything in particular?"

Donna shook her head.

"Just anything you can find, but not too much else they'll notice." Donna responded.

Theta nodded, getting to his feet and stretching in the small space.

"Rose?" he asked.

Rose shook her head, not looking up. Her shoulders shook with silent sobs.

"She'll have some fruit or something," Donna told Theta quietly, her arm going around her sister's shoulders.

Theta nodded and slipped out of the cupboard.

**~StormWolf10~**

Wilf cursed. Of course Donna and Rose would go after Theta. He wasn't surprised, but he _was_ annoyed. He'd expected them to leave a note, at least. Seeing nothing of the sort left in either his granddaughters' bedroom or the kitchen, Wilf shook his head, and went to open the inn up. He began to wonder just how long it would be before they sloped through the door, a grumbling Theta in tow as Donna complained about how early in the morning they'd had to get up to stop him from sneaking into the spaceport. Wilf smiled and bid good morning to some of the off-worlders who'd stayed the night while their ship was repaired, and they smiled back before dragging their bags out the inn door. They'd had all sorts at the Shooting Star Inn, off-worlders that had to stay overnight. Wilf tried not to regard them with suspicion, even as the tall man shrugged on his leather coat and disappeared outside. More people came and went from the inn, and it was soon mid-morning, with no sign of Donna or Rose returning. Wilf frowned. He'd been expecting them back by now. He'd give them a little while longer…. But then the inn door swung open, revealing Harriet, and she hurried inside.

"Any word about Theta?" Wilf asked cheerily, beginning to wonder if the kids had gone back to the Home.

Harriet, however, shook her head.

"I was hoping you'd heard something," Harriet admitted worriedly. "I was wondering if I could speak to the girls?"

"They're not here," Wilf responded.

Harriet blinked.

"I think they went after Theta," Wilf continued when met with Harriet's shocked expression.

"And they've not yet returned?" Harriet asked, voice laced with concern.

Wilf shook his head.

"Then perhaps we'd better inform the Authorities," Harriet replied, brow furrowed.

Wilf, somewhat reluctantly, nodded.

**~StormWolf10~**

"How long do you think it'll be before they realise we're here?" Rose asked quietly, brow furrowed.

Theta shrugged.

"Could be hours, could be days. Could be weeks," he responded.

Donna groaned.

"And how do we get off? How do we get off at the next port and get back to Astor?" Donna asked.

Again, Theta shrugged.

"Dunno yet," he replied, "but I'm working on it."

It had been several hours since Theta had managed to steal some fruit and bread, and although they were getting hungry again, the trio were reluctant to leave their hiding place. They'd heard the crew, of course, walking through the galley for meals, and presumably the cook was still out there, as there were pots and pans being banged about. They were getting tired, having hardly slept the night before for fear they'd be found, and they were all aware that there was only so long they could avoid sleep before it began affecting them.

"When do you think you'll be able to get some more food?" Donna asked suddenly.

"Probably not until the crew have gone to bed," Theta admitted, frowning. "There's too much of a risk of being seen otherwise."

Donna sighed again.

"I should've stayed at home," she muttered tiredly.

**~StormWolf10~**

"And when did you last see your granddaughters?"

"Last night," Wilf told the Officer from the Authorities with a sigh, "I said good night to them after Harriet left."

"Have they run away before, sir?"

Wilf blinked.

"Well, they ran off down to the market a few times when they were younger, but other than that, no," Wilf replied with a frown.

"It is probably worth noting, Officer, that we believe they went after Theta Sigma," Harriet chipped in helpfully.

Wilf stifled a chuck as the Officer rolled his eyes at the mention of Theta's name.

"Well, we'll check all the standard places teens usually run off to, the old abandoned houses out past the edges of the town, the inns at the next town-"

"Actually, you may want to try the spaceport first," Harriet announced calmly.

The Officer blinked.

"With all due respect, I doubt Theta would break into the spaceport this late at night-" the Officer began, but Harriet interrupted him.

"We had to break the news to Theta that his application for work on a steamliner was refused. We believe he may have gone to the spaceport to hitchhike off of Astor."

"And, like I said before, we think Donna and Rose went to fetch him back," Wilf added.

They watched as the Officer made some notes on a pad of paper.

"Well, I'll let the others down at the Authorities know, and I'll alert the spaceport to keep an eye out," the Officer announced.

Wilf and Harriet nodded, and moments later the man was leaving the inn.

**~StormWolf10~**

Theta, Donna and Rose had no idea how long they'd been stowing away on the steamliner, but they knew it had been at least two days. They'd slept twice, after all, and Theta had periodically stolen slices of bread, an apple or banana or two, to tide them over. They couldn't take too much at once, else the cook would begin to notice, but the amount of food was hardly sustaining them, and they were all growing irritable and restless, all jammed in their glorified cupboard with just a few stolen blankets to keep them warm.

"I'd give anything for a bath," Donna muttered, wrinkling her nose, before glaring at Theta. "At least you got to pack clean clothes."

"Hey, I offered you clothes! You refused!" Theta responded indignantly.

Donna scoffed.

"They're boys' clothes," Donna replied.

"Well, I'm sorry I didn't pack girls' clothes!"

Rose rolled her eyes, tugging at her own clothes. She'd had no bother borrowing clothes from Theta; they were the same as she usually wore just in different colours and a little too big. She'd had to roll the sleeves of the plain white top up, the neck of which slipped halfway down her shoulder, her own waistcoat still on. The Jodhpur breeches she wore had also been rolled up several times so she wouldn't trip over them, but neither she nor Donna had actually left the little room they were in. However, as Donna and Theta continued bickering about what Theta had and hadn't packed, Rose suddenly heard footsteps outside.

"Guys," Rose hissed, kicking at Donna's foot.

Donna scowled at her younger sister, before beginning to argue with Theta again.

"Guys!" Rose snapped again.

Theta sighed.

"What, Rose?" he asked, turning to look at her.

"Listen!"

Theta listened. Donna listened. Their eyes widened.

"It's the crew," Theta murmured.

Indeed, they could hear voices in the galley just outside.

"But I just don't understand it!" One man said with an annoyed sigh. "I made sure the kitchen was fully stocked before we left Astor, I don't see how we're getting through food so fast!"

"Well, maybe we've got rats?"

Theta recognised the voice as the Captain.

"Nah, I checked the whole ship. You know they carry plague," another man said.

"Then… Then maybe we're not alone on here?" a woman's voice suggested.

"What are you suggesting, Tosh?" another woman asked.

"Well," the first woman- Tosh- replied, "perhaps, before we set off, someone else got onboard? Possibly."

"Stowaways?" a third woman queried.

"Quite possibly," Tosh responded.

In their tiny hideout, Rose, Donna and Theta all swallowed.

"Well then, where are they hiding?" the Captain asked quietly, suspicious. "And what should we do with them?"

"Sling them off at the next port?" one of the men suggested.

"Throw them overboard?" the other man suggested.

Unable to stop themselves, Donna and Rose gasped loudly, and Theta, who had somehow ended up in between the two sisters, clamped his hands over their mouths.

"Don't be daft! We turn around and take them back," the third woman replied.

"We don't have time for that, Gwen!" the other woman snapped. "Not with Torchwood on our backs!"

"Well what do you suggest, Suzie?" Gwen snapped back. "We can't keep them onboard; we'll have to keep stopping for food!"

"And that," the Captain announced, "would give them the chance to catch up with us."

"We never should've gone rogue," one of the men sighed.

"Oh come on, Owen!" the Captain announced cheerily. "This is much more us!" His tone then shifted. "Besides, after the stuff they were doing, well… I want nothing to do with them. Not anymore."

"But you were happy to take their steamship!" Owen pointed out, tone suggesting he was amused.

"They owed us," the Captain responded calmly. "They owed all of us. Especially Ianto."

There was the sound of someone clearing their throat.

"Not that this isn't a lovely chat," Suzie drawled, "but what are we going to do about our stowaways? And how do we even find them? They could be anywhere on the ship!"

"Oh, Suzie," the Captain sighed, although it sounded like he was smiling, "we've already found them. Weren't you listening?"

Theta frowned in confusion, and then there were footsteps, getting closer… The door swung open to reveal a tall man with dark brown hair and blue eyes staring down at Theta, Rose and Donna. They gaped up at the man, frozen in shock and fear.

"Well, well," the Captain drawled, "look what we have here…"


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Sorry for the wait! Hopefully this chapter is worth it! :)**

"Let us go!"

Donna watched as her younger sister kicked and twisted in the grip of one of the men, being half-carried half-dragged across the deck of the steamship.

"You can't hurt them!" Theta broke in suddenly, tone desperate as he strained against the ropes that now bound his hands and feet, staring up at the Captain with wide eyes. "They're just girls, underage, you need to take them home, to Astor!"

"And what about you?" the Captain asked, arching an eyebrow. "Are you not underage?"

Theta faltered, mouth opening and closing, but he couldn't form the words. Eventually, he managed to splutter out a sentence.

"Almost, I'm almost of age, just a few more days."

The Captain chuckled, clearly amused.

"Oh, but that means you'll have to leave too!" the Captain announced, before turning to the two other men on the crew. "Bring them over here, stick them next to him."

Donna and Rose were bodily hauled across the deck, dropped beside Theta.

"Now, here's the thing," the Captain continued, and suddenly, he didn't seem so scary. Something had shifted in his blue eyes, made him look more vulnerable. "We can't take you home. Not yet, anyway."

"Why?" Donna demanded, against her better judgement.

"Because Torchwood are after us," a woman snapped- Suzie- as she glared at them. "We go back on ourselves now and they're sure to catch us!"

"But we're underage!" Donna continued, wide-eyed. "You have to take us back! You can't just abandon us!"

"We never said we were going to," the Captain shrugged, a small smirk on his face now.

Theta frowned. Moments ago the crew had been acting exactly like he'd expected them to, all violence and authority, but now- with the exception of Suzie, who was glaring at them in distaste- they seemed to be almost amused by the situation.

"We can get you home," Ianto piped up, "just not yet. It'll be a few months."

Donna gaped.

"But… Our Granddad!"

"I'm sorry," Gwen told them sympathetically, "but it's the best we can do. A few months and we can get you home."

"But _you_ said you were on the run from Torchwood," Theta piped up, voice tinged with annoyance. "Do you really think this steamship is a suitable place for two young ladies?"

Owen snorted.

"Those _two young ladies_ were the ones that stowed away on here. We didn't force you on this ship," he responded.

"What's Torchwood?" Donna asked, frowning as she turned to look at Theta.

Theta didn't respond, he was too busy staring the Captain down, but a glance at her sister told Rose that Torchwood wasn't good.

"You remember the old Pirate legends Gramps used to tell me when he'd babysit us?" Rose asked her sister quietly, wide-eyed.

Donna nodded.

"Well," Rose continued, biting her lip, "Torchwood is that."

"Pirates?" Donna asked quietly, her own eyes growing wide.

Rose nodded.

"Thought they were a legend…" Rose responded.

"Well, they're not," the Captain announced, "and they're very much after us."

"Earlier, before you found us, you said you'd stolen their ship," Donna recalled slowly.

The crew all nodded, and then, then it sank in for Donna.

"Oh my god! We're on a pirate ship!"

**~StormWolf10~**

The crew eventually untied the three kids, even though it seemed Suzie would much rather they stayed tied up. Rose and Donna did their best to avoid Owen as well, as they were fairly certain he was the one who'd suggested they threw them overboard. It had been voted that Theta, Donna and Rose would stay onboard, despite the earlier worries of food shortages, purely because of the law that- unless there was a failure in the ship's power- any underage parties leaving a planet had to return on the same ship. This meant they couldn't drop Rose and Donna off and get them to hitch a lift back to Astor. All seated at the long table in the galley, Theta, Donna and Rose demanded to know just why this crew were being chased by space pirates.

"You said you'd gone rogue," Theta announced, "but you don't seem very… Pirate-y."

The Captain- who'd since introduced himself as Jack Harkness- grinned.

"Well, that's the thing, see," Jack announced with a slight chuckle. "We're not your average pirates."

"We're not really pirates at all," Ianto added as he placed three tankards of water in front of the kids.

"That's why we went rogue from Torchwood," Toshiko continued. "The stuff they do… When we joined, we thought it was what we wanted, but Torchwood has become more ruthless, more insistent on destroying things, of conquering…"

"But how come you're allowed to be off-world?" Rose broke in, frowning at the three women.

Toshiko, Gwen and Suzie all looked at each other, frowning. It was Gwen who replied to Rose.

"Well," she began, a little uncertainly, "where we're from, the customs are a little different to yours. It's… Not as strict. It doesn't mean our families agreed with us flying off into space, but were a little more understanding about it."

Rose pouted.

"Just my luck to end up on the one planet where women are used only to reproduce," Rose muttered bitterly, folding her arms over her chest.

"Well, if it's any consolation, you seem far from an average girl," Jack chipped in happily.

Later, Donna would swear down that the Captain winked at her little sister, but couldn't be sure.

"What will happen?" Theta piped up suddenly, a frown on his face even as he downed the contents of his tankard. "What will happen once we get back to Astor?"

"Well, you'll go home," Jack responded in confusion.

"What… What if I told you I didn't have a home?" Theta pried carefully. "Could… Could I stay with you?"

Jack blinked, and looked at his crew for a few moments before replying.

"We'll see how you get on over the next couple of months, yeah?" Jack suggested with a small smile. "Sort of like a trial run."

Theta looked a little uncertain, but nodded.

"You'll still take us home, though, yeah?" Donna asked nervously, gesturing at her and Rose.

Jack nodded, and looked about to speak, but Rose got there first.

"I don't wanna go home; I wanna stay here with Theta."

"I… From what I know of Astor and the laws there, that won't be possible," Ianto spoke up with a slight frown.

"But… But you guys can cook, and you must know first aid and stuff, I'll be fine!" Rose insisted.

Owen snorted.

"I'm a fully-trained medical professional, Rose, but even with that, they wouldn't let you stay with us," Owen told the girl."

"Why not?! I'm just as capable as Theta!" Rose protested, wide-eyed.

"Of that, we have no doubt," Jack responded calmly. "But you're underage, and you're a girl, and on Astor it is your job to produce children and be a wife. It may not be fair, but that's the way things are."

Rose snorted and looked away, glaring at the galley wall. Suzie strode across the room to mutter something to Jack, low enough that the three kids couldn't hear. They weren't sure they wanted to hear. After a minute or two, Jack nodded.

"Seeing as you'll be on the ship a while, it's only fair you earn your keep," Jack announced to them calmly.

"And that means?" Theta prompted worriedly.

"We," Suzie announced coldly, "are putting you to work."

**~StormWolf10~**

Donna tried not to grimace as she picked up a piece of the slimy meat. She'd never liked touching raw meat, but she supposed it would have to be something she got used to, what with being given a job in the kitchens, and being expected to be married off once home. She'd been slightly surprised to discover that it wasn't Gwen, Toshiko or Suzie who were cooking, but Ianto. The man was very friendly, and a skilled cook, but also liked things done his specific way. If Donna weren't still worried about being flung overboard to fall into the nearest black hole, she'd have already had several arguments with the man.

"You done this sort of thing before?" Ianto asked suddenly, glancing over from where he was cutting up vegetables.

Donna thought for a few moments.

"I help my Gramps cook sometimes. Me and Rose usually just do veg though." Donna responded with a shrug.

It took her a few moments to realise Ianto was still watching her.

"Do you miss your Granddad?" he asked her quietly.

Donna didn't have to think for more than a second.

"Of course I do!" she responded quickly, hurt and angry that Ianto would think she was fine disappearing without having told Wilf where they were going. "He's… He's always been there for us, me and Rose, even more so since we lost our parents."

Ianto just shrugged.

"Just wondered," he responded, returning to his work. "It's just, you and your little sister seemed very quick coming after your friend, you didn't seem to have given it much thought."

Donna snorted.

"As far as I was concerned, I was just retrieving Theta from the spaceport again," she told Ianto calmly.

"But it wasn't, was it?"

Donna shook her head then.

"By the time me and Rose got there, he was already onboard. We climbed up after him, but before we could convince him to leave with us, you lot turned up and we had to hide."

Donna's brow was furrowed as she relived those final moments, before they'd been caught, before they'd abandoned Wilf, before their lives had been turned upside down and they were stranded on a rogue pirate ship. It wasn't until she felt Ianto's hand on her shoulder, looked up to see the concern and sympathy in his eyes, gratefully accepted the tissue he handed her, that Donna realised silent tears were streaming down her pale cheeks.

**~StormWolf10~**

"I pride myself on a tight ship," Captain Jack announced as he strode along the deck of his steamship, arms behind his back and greatcoat flapping behind him. The man didn't even check behind him to see if Theta and Rose were keeping up. "And a tight ship means that all my crew obey my orders. It means that the decks are cleaned daily, all guide ropes are secure and the weapons tidied away. Am I clear?"

Jack heard no response, and spun round to see both Theta and Rose staring out across the sky at the multitude of stars scattered around him. Theta was leaning comfortably on the side of the ship, chin on his arms, but Rose had to stretch a little to dangle her arms over the top. They looked quite sweet actually, and Jack felt a pang in his chest as he realised that he'd seen their expressions looked familiar; all disbelief and awe and amazement and excitement, and he'd seen it before, on his own face when he'd just been Theta's age. For a few moments, Jack just watched the two kids, a small smile on his face, but then he remembered that he had a job to do, that they needed to be told what their tasks would be whilst on the ship, would need to know that standing around watching the stars will get them nothing more than an angry captain yelling at them.

"Am I clear?" Jack repeated loudly, eyebrow arched.

It took a great deal of strength to keep the arched eyebrow and stern expression when what he wanted to do was laugh at how Theta and Rose both jumped about six feet in the air upon hearing his voice.

"I… Uh… Yes, Captain!" Theta announced quickly, wide-eyed as Rose stuttered a similar statement.

"Good," Jack stated, trying not to smirk at their shocked expressions. "Now, as I was saying, I run a tight ship. You'll be working on the deck, the pair of you, cleaning and mopping the deck each day, checking the sails for any repairs that may need doing, checking the guide ropes. If I'm not satisfied with your work, you'll immediately be taken off duty and transferred elsewhere on the ship."

"Transferred?" Rose squeaked, wide-eyed still.

Jack nodded.

"You, Rose, will be delegated to the galley if I find your work unsatisfactory," Jack announced calmly. "And you, Theta, will be moved inside to keep the living quarters clean."

Jack felt a little bad at their hurt expressions, but it was necessary if they were going to be working at their best. Rose had begged Jack to let her work on deck with Theta, refusing to work in the kitchens with her sister, whilst Theta had been adamant he couldn't be cooped up inside. At least with the threat of being moved to work in places they knew they'd hate, Jack knew they'd put a lot of work into keeping the deck spick and span. Taking a deep breath, Jack then continued talking.

"You are permitted anywhere on the ship except for the third level," he told them calmly.

"Why?" Rose asked, brow furrowed. "What's on the third level?"

Jack shot her a look.

"Something a girl of your age has no business knowing."

**~StormWolf10~**

Before they knew it, Theta, Donna and Rose had been on the Boeshane Peninsula- the name of the steamship, they'd found out from Gwen- over a week. Theta was of age, and determined not to be thrown off the ship once they were back at Astor, whilst Rose threw herself into her work to try and prove she was just as capable as the sixteen year old boy. Donna kept quiet most of the time, staying in the galley with Ianto most of the time, and the few times she did speak it was usually to snap at Theta for being childish or getting Rose over-excited right before bed time. They'd been given living quarters, of course, Theta sharing with Owen whilst Donna and Rose shared a room together. The crew talked, each night once the kids had gone to bed, about what they would do over the next few months, how they would keep the kids occupied, keep them safe, protect them from Torchwood.

"I don't reckon you'll be able to get Theta to leave though, Jack," Owen announced one night, feet on the galley table as he lounged in his chair, "he's too headstrong."

"Well, he's of age," Jack mused, head cocked to one side, "a little older than usual, but we could use a cabin boy. He does a good job on deck, too."

"But we'll still have to take the girls back," Tosh said.

It seemed to have started out as a question, but ended up more of a statement, as Toshiko was well aware of Astor's customs. Jack nodded.

"We have no choice. Even if Donna wanted to stay, which I don't think she does, Rose is underage," Jack responded with a sigh.

"Donna just wants to go home," Ianto agreed quietly. "She's of age in just under two months, I can't tell if she's looking forward to it or not, but she misses her Granddad."

"And what about Rose? Is she missing home?" Gwen asked, frowning as she looked at Jack.

The Captain shrugged, his own brow furrowing.

"From what I've seen, she's been working hard, eager to learn, enjoying her time here. Anything I teach Theta I have to teach Rose as well, she seems really desperate to learn about this lifestyle and prove she can cope," Jack told them. "I haven't heard her say that she's missing home, or her Granddad, but we don't know what she's like when she goes to bed, once Donna's asleep. No knowing what she's thinking…"

"You think she's faking it? How happy she is?" Toshiko asked uncertainly.

Again, the Captain shrugged.

"Not faking it, necessarily. She seems to be genuinely enjoying learning new stuff, but once she's in bed, once she hasn't got work, or Theta to distract her… I wouldn't be surprised if she got more than a little upset and homesick," Jack responded.

There was a snort from the corner of the galley, and the crew all turned to see Suzie sat in the corner of the room, shaking her head at them.

"I can't believe you're getting yourselves so worked up over some little brats," she told them snidely as she glared at them. "The sooner we get them off our ship, the better, in my opinion."

**~StormWolf10~**

Entire star constellations away from where Theta, Donna and Rose were drifting through space on the Boeshane Peninsula, Wilfred Mott looked out his bedroom window and sighed. It had been over a week. Over a week of not knowing where his granddaughters were, not knowing if they were safe, if they were coming back to him. Not knowing if he'd lost them just like he'd lost his daughter, Donna's and Rose's Mother. He tried to see the bright side of the situation, he really did, but that was difficult with Officers of the Authorities searching his inn and Harriet periodically turning up on his doorstep to flap around in a panic for an hour or so before returning to the Home. Wilf tried to remember that the fact their beds were still empty most likely meant Donna and Rose were seeing the stars, doing things young women from Astor didn't usually get to do, but every time he passed by their bedroom door, saw their empty beds, Rose's battered wolf toy, he couldn't help but wonder if a much worse fate had met them. Terrible images filled his mind during those moments, moments he tried to avoid, ignore, forget. But he couldn't escape them forever. In his waking hours, Wilf had found he could will them away, distract himself by talking to the patrons of the inn. But in his sleeping hours, those terrible thoughts clouded his mind's eye, transforming and twisting and contorting into horrid nightmares, rife with death and torment, and always ended with him opening his front door to find Theta, kneeling on the doorstep, tears in his eyes and Donna's broken body in his arms as he begged Wilf to help. In the minutes after he'd woken from the first of the recurring nightmares, Wilf hadn't been able to fathom what had scared and upset him more; Theta cradling Donna's broken body in his arms, begging him to help, or the fact that Rose hadn't been there at all….

"Bring them home safe, Theta," Wilf murmured softly. "Just bring them home safe."


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: In which we begin to discover a little more about Rose's past (along with some stuff about Torchwood), and Wilf is in an awkward situation… **

Wilf sighed as he took in the tall, slim but nervous young man in front of him. He knew who he was, of course, the boy was Lee McAvoy. His Father ran Astor's bakery. If he was quite honest, Wilf was surprised this day had taken such a long time coming; Donna and Rose had been missing twelve days, word had gotten out that they'd run away with that good-for-nothing Theta Sigma. And yet, somehow, young Lee seemed to have missed the memo. Then again, apparently so had Donna's teacher. Mrs Chesterton, Donna's teacher, had been tasked with putting forward each of the girls in her class to suitable young gentlemen. Every teacher had to do it, as their girls became of age, they would recommend them to be married off to a certain young gentleman on Astor, where they will then go on to bear children for said gentleman. It seemed that Mrs Chesterton had deemed Donna suitable for young Mr McAvoy, although Wilf was struggling to make head or tail of the situation; Lee McAvoy was well-known across Astor, purely for his stutter. He only stuttered when he got nervous, but the poor boy always seemed nervous or flustered, and so always seemed to stutter. Wilf knew the young boy had had a crush on Donna for at least several months, and while the match seemed to suit the young boy just fine, Wilf couldn't help but wonder if Lee realised just how much Donna talked. Lee was stood in the middle of the Shooting Star Inn, looking around with a wide-eyed, panicked expression, and Wilf knew he'd have to go over and break the news to the poor boy; he'd strode in looking so confident (although Wilf had heard from Steven Taylor, a regular at the inn, that the poor boy had been stood outside in the rain for ten minutes, muttering under his breath and seemingly trying to pluck up the courage to step inside), and had asked for Donna Noble without so much as a stutter. And then someone at a table had shouted over about how Donna had gone missing, and didn't he know that, and the boy had gone all wide-eyed and stutter-y and had struggled to string together a sentence.

"Why don't you take a seat, boy," Wilf suggested as he made his way over to Lee.

Still wide-eyed, Lee quickly complied, dropping down at an empty table. Wilf took the seat opposite the boy, hands clasped together and resting them on the table.

"Now, you're Lee McAvoy, yes?"

"Y- Yes sir," Lee stuttered, nodding furiously.

"And Mrs Chesterton put Donna's name forward as a suitable wife for you?" Wilf asked.

Again, the boy nodded, and stuttered out a hasty 'Yes, sir'.

"Well," Wilf sighed, "I'm afraid that may not be possible."

"I- Is she p-paired with someone else?" Lee asked, brow furrowed.

"No, no, she's just… She's off-world at the moment," Wilf admitted awkwardly.

If possible, Lee's eyes went even wider.

"O- Off-world?!" he echoed.

Wilf nodded.

"She went after Theta Sigma, after he ran away. She and Rose. They… They haven't come back," Wilf explained softly.

Slowly, Lee nodded, but his brow was still furrowed.

"And s- she'll return?" Lee asked.

Wilf nodded again, but looked a little uncertain.

"I'm hoping so, yes," Wilf told the boy. "But I don't know where they are at the moment."

"T- Then what happens w-with me? A- And Donna? Our a- arrangement?" Lee asked with a frown.

"I'm not sure," Wilf admitted. "I can't promise you Donna, as I don't know when she'll be back, and I don't want you to put your life on hold. If another teacher recommends another woman for you to take as a wife, don't hold out for Donna."

Lee nodded, thinking for a few moments. And then, the boy was on his feet, shaking Wilf's hand.

"T- Thank you, Mr Mott," Lee told him calmly. "I'll s-see myself out."

**~StormWolf10~**

"You know, Red," Theta announced to Donna as he leant against the galley table and watched Donna wash up the lunch things, "you're not that bad at cooking."

Donna retaliated by poking her tongue out and continuing with the washing up.

"Oi! That was meant to be a compliment!" Theta grumbled, causing Rose to giggle.

"Yeah, but there's no need to sound so shocked!" Donna groused, although she was smiling slightly.

The rest of the crew had disappeared to the Captain's quarters to work out just when their next stop would have to be to restock food and do minor repairs. That left Theta, Donna and Rose alone in the galley, for one of the first times since they'd been caught on the ship ten days previously. They still couldn't quite believe they'd been on the Boeshane Peninsula for twelve days, but there was no denying just how long they'd been aboard. Time seemed to move differently off-world, there were no sunrises or sunsets to mark the passing of time, the day and the night were indistinguishable from each other. Theta and Rose loved it. Donna found it a little disconcerting.

"Is… Is it just me or does Captain Jack seem familiar?" Rose piped up suddenly, her brow furrowed.

She was sat on the galley table, swinging her legs back and forth, and Donna had already warned her that Ianto wouldn't be happy if he caught her on the table. Sitting there, Rose somehow looked even smaller and younger than usual, her feet didn't touch the floor, and the table was so big and long it seemed to dwarf the girl.

"What do you mean?" Donna asked her sister, finishing the washing up and wiping her hands on a rag. They'd throw the dirty water overboard later.

Rose shrugged.

"I dunno, there's… There's just something about him, something familiar…. Like… Like I've seen him before," Rose responded, frowning at nothing in particular as she tried to make sense of the odd feeling she got whenever she was around the Captain.

"What, like from the stories Gramps used to tell you when he babysat us?" Donna asked.

Rose shook her head.

"No, not that. It… It feels like I've met him before…" she trailed off, thinking for a few moments, before continuing: "When I first saw him, I… His eyes seemed familiar. His eyes… And his voice."

She shook her head, as if to dislodge a memory from her brain, to have it tumble down into the recesses of her mind where she could reclaim it and understand just why Captain Jack was so familiar to her. It didn't work, of course, and all Rose got were some odd looks from her sister and friend.

"You sure, Cub?" Theta asked, brow furrowed even as he used his nickname for her. "Have you been sleeping alright?"

Rose glared at him.

"I'm of perfectly sound mind, Theta," Rose responded sharply, shocking Theta and causing Donna to smirk. "But there's something about him… Something I can't put my finger on…"

**~StormWolf10~**

"You starting to settle in?"

Donna looked up in shock, surprised to see Gwen and Toshiko sat opposite her at the galley table. She hadn't heard them come in, and Theta and Rose had disappeared to mop the deck, so Donna had presumed she was alone. She shrugged, not meeting Gwen's or Tosh's eyes.

"Suppose so," Donna responded after a while.

"It's alright to be homesick, you know," Toshiko told her gently, with a kind smile. "No one will judge you."

Donna raised an eyebrow.

"Suzie?" she reminded the two older women.

Gwen and Tosh shared a look before Gwen responded.

"Suzie… She's had a tough time. She… When she first joined Torchwood, she did stuff she wasn't proud of. She can handle a gun with ease, reload it with her eyes blindfolded. She got caught up in the excitement and the adrenaline and the danger, didn't realise just what she was doing until it was too late."

"She's… She's killed people?" Donna asked quietly, suddenly very nervous.

"Like we said," Toshiko broke in quickly, "she got caught up in it all. We all did."

There was a pause, and a look passed between the two older women, a silent agreement to tell Donna everything. Donna herself was just confused.

"You see," Toshiko began slowly, "Torchwood… Torchwood changes you. Makes you harder, colder. We tried to fight, we realised what was happening, managed to stop ourselves from becoming too… Emboldened by it all. We'd… We'd all lost someone close to us, all figured that the killing and the violence was what we wanted, what we _needed_ to recover, but… We were wrong. I'd lost my Mum shortly before joining Torchwood, Gwen had lost her older brother, Owen had lost his fiancée, Ianto had lost… Ianto had lost everything. Suzie, well, she doesn't like to talk about her past, but we think it has something to do with her parents…"

Toshiko trailed off, and it was Gwen who took over the explanation.

"The point is, we were all broken, and Torchwood took advantage of that, used us. Used the rage and anger and hopelessness we were filled with, and manipulated us. Used us as weapons. As Tosh said, we managed to get out, but others… Others began to see it as their only option, to travel through the stars pillaging passing steamships, taking treasure and demanding planets. They're very dangerous, Torchwood, and they'll stop at nothing to get what they want."

Donna swallowed. It didn't sound like running away from them was such a good idea. Trying not to dwell on that, she took a deep breath.

"And the Captain? What did he lose?" she asked slowly.

Again, Gwen and Toshiko shared a look before replying.

"Everything," Gwen responded quietly. "He lost everything."

**~StormWolf10~**

The deck of the ship mopped, Theta and Rose were free to watch the stars. Owen and Ianto were still muttering about restocking supplies, and had headed down to some of the lower decks, but Jack had joined Theta and Rose on deck.

"Lovely view, isn't it?" Jack piped up.

Theta nodded enthusiastically, and Rose nodded too, although she was watching Jack strangely.

"I'll miss it," Theta responded quietly, gazing out at the stars. "If you don't want me to stay, I mean."

He glanced at Jack, but then was suddenly aware of how needy he probably looked, and glanced away again.

"You can stay if you want."

Theta blinked, sure he was hearing things. Trying not to get his hopes up too high, he slowly turned to look at Jack.

"I- I'm sorry?" he asked, brow furrowed.

"I said you could stay if you wanted," Jack repeated calmly, smiling.

"Really?" Theta asked, eyes glinting in the starlight.

Jack nodded, and a wide grin spread across Theta's face.

"Brilliant!" he announced happily. "Absolutely brilliant! Thank you so much!"

Jack laughed, watching as the boy grinned happily, virtually bouncing on the step he was sat on.

"It's just cabin boy, mind," Jack warned him, although he was grinning too by that point. "Then you can work your way up from there."

Theta nodded happily, and then paused, turning to look at Jack.

"Can I have a long coat?" he asked.

Jack arched his eyebrow.

"A long coat?" the Captain echoed.

Theta nodded again.

"Yeah, like yours!" he responded, nodding at Jack's navy greatcoat.

Jack looked the boy over, thinking for a few moments before nodding.

"We'll see what we can do," he told the boy.

Then, noticing that Rose had gone rather quiet, Jack turned to look at the girl. She was sat with her head bowed, a curtain of hair obscuring her face from view. Jack thought she might be crying.

"Don't worry, Rose, we'll get you home soon," Jack told the girl gently. "We'll keep you safe till then."

He reached over, to lay a reassuring hand on her shoulder, but then Rose's head snapped up. Her hazel eyes were wide as she stared back at him, but she wasn't seeing Captain Jack on the deck of the Boeshane Peninsula, she was seeing Captain Jack on the wreckage of a small steamship, all smoke and dust and gaping holes in the walls where she instinctively knew cannonballs had ploughed through. Rose knew it couldn't have been real, she could hear Theta calling her name, telling her to snap out of whatever trance she'd fallen into, but her mind kept throwing up fragmented images of Captain Jack, stood so much taller, towering above her…

"_Take my hand," the man told her, blue eyes gentle as he reached towards her. "We need to get you away from here, sweetheart. Get you away from all this. I'll keep you safe."_

_Rose blinked up at him, wide-eyed. She wanted her parents. She didn't want to go with the strange man, she wanted her parents. But a little voice at the back of her mind was telling her that they wouldn't come, that they couldn't come. That her parents had gone. She stifled a sob, and the next thing she knew, the man was lifting her into his arms as easily as if she were a ragdoll. Rose was so scared, so terrified… She clung to the little wolf toy in her hands, allowed the tall man with the dark blue coat and the piercing blue eyes carry her from the room. And then she saw them. Stretched out on the ground, hands reaching for each other. Her parents. Rose buried her face in the man's neck and sobbed._

"Rose!"

Rose, wide-eyed, stared up at Theta, breathing heavily. Her brow immediately furrowed, trying to make sense of what she'd just experienced, but she couldn't, not really… And then she saw Jack, stood a little way away, looking concerned and talking to Owen. She hadn't even realised Owen was there… but then she remembered what she'd just experienced- or, at least, what she _thought_ she'd just experienced- and realised. Jack. Before anyone had stopped her, Rose had turned and fled.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: In which things kick off…**

"I'm not leaving."

They'd been aboard the steamship Boeshane Peninsula for three weeks when Rose announced that at dinner. The steady stream of banter and chatter petered off as the crew all turned to look at the stubborn twelve year old.

"What do you mean?" Donna asked her little sister in confusion. "We're not leaving yet."

"I'm _not leaving_," Rose ground out again, teeth gritted as she glared defiantly up at her big sister. "When you go back to Astor, I'm staying."

"Rose," Gwen piped up, expression pained. They'd already explained it several times to the girl that she simply couldn't remain on the ship with them; the Authorities in Astor could prosecute them, women simply weren't allowed off-world. "You _can't_ stay. As much as we'd love you to, you just can't!"

"Why not?" Rose demanded stubbornly, breakfast forgotten as she folded her arms across her chest. "How is that fair? Just because I'm a girl I have to stay on-world? How can you just accept that? _You_ wouldn't like it if _you_ weren't allowed off-world!"

"But we weren't born on Astor, Rose-" Toshiko tried to explain.

"And neither was I!" Rose snapped. "I was born off-world! I'm not an Astorian, not really. Not like Donna, or Theta! I don't know _where_ I was born, but it wasn't Astor!"

"But you were raised there," Ianto pointed out, "you were adopted by an Astorian family. That legally makes you Astorian."

"Well that's just bloody stupid!" Rose retorted bitterly.

Donna's eyebrows rose at that. She'd not at all been surprised by her younger sister's outburst, it was an argument she and Wilf had had with her several times over the past year, but she had never heard Rose come so close to swearing before. Part of her mind suggested that her baby sister was perhaps turning into a stubborn teenager, and Donna grimaced at the thought. She forced herself to pay attention to the argument that was still going on right in front of her, and it seemed it was just in time, as Theta waded into the argument.

"Don't be an idiot, Rose, you don't belong here."

The room went deadly silent, even Suzie looked momentarily shocked by what Theta had said. Rose herself turned slowly to look at the boy- now a man- sat beside her. She had an incredulous expression on her face as she took him in; his hair was as wild as ever, he had slight stubble on his jaw, which he probably made him look all grown up and Pirate-y, he was dressed in his usual clothes, but they were already fraying slightly from how often they had to be washed- he hadn't packed much, so it was just an endless cycle of the same four shirts and six pairs of breeches.

"Excuse me?" Rose asked, voice eerily calm and eyebrow arched.

"You heard me," Theta responded coolly. "You need to be at home, with your Granddad. You need to buck up and stop being so bloody selfish all the time. This isn't all about you."

"You're one to talk!" Rose snapped back, suddenly on her feet. "You're the git who went running off in the middle of the night! You call _me_ selfish?! Look in the mirror! You got me and Donna stuck here, you must have known we'd come after you, but you didn't stop to think about that! And you have the guts to tell _me_ that it's not all about me?"

Just as suddenly, Theta was on his feet, towering over Rose, his expression hard as stone. There was something in his eyes, something Donna had never seen before, dark and hard and absolutely terrifying. And yet Rose didn't flinch.

"You can be a spoilt little brat sometimes, can't you?" Theta sneered, stepping closer so that, if he'd been several inches shorter, he and Rose would have been eye-to-eye. "Has it not occurred to you that you have _everything_? You have a home, you have a sister and a Granddad who love you… You have a family, Rose, and you just walked away from it! You're so bloody insistent on living your _perfect idea of a life_ that you don't see what you're leaving behind!"

All Donna could do was gape in shock. Jack, Owen and Ianto were all on their feet, ready to intervene in case things got out of hand, but Donna wasn't sure whether they were worried that Theta would try and hit Rose or that Rose would slap Theta. And then, with no warning, Theta spun on his heels and stormed out of the galley. The tension in the air was so thick it was almost choking Donna, and she hardly managed to get the words out as Rose went marching after Theta.

"Leave him to cool off," Donna told her sternly.

Rose paid her no attention, and Donna sighed as her sister disappeared out of the galley.

**~StormWolf10~**

"What the hell is your problem?"

Theta didn't turn around at the sound of Rose's voice. Instead, he stayed staring out across the ship's deck, watching the stars twinkle all around them.

"I asked you a question."

Theta ignored her. He heard Rose huff, and heard her stepping closer.

"You're just a kid."

His voice was quiet, and he wasn't completely sure if Rose had heard him or not. However, at Rose's snort, he realised she had.

"You're a little kid trailing after me, and I'm sick of it. You're a wolf cub without its mother, blundering about, trying to avoid poacher's traps as you learn to hunt. You're ignorant, you're nothing more than a baby. You're so small and fragile, and I can't be worrying about you all the time, Rose."

"Then don't."

At that, Theta looked round. The confusion must have shown on his face, because Rose sighed.

"Don't worry about me. I'm not a little kid, I'm twelve. Almost thirteen in a few months," she told him, annoyance tingeing her tone.

The Doctor scoffed.

"Almost thirteen in a few months," he echoed bitterly. "I'm not your minder, Rose."

"I never said you were."

"And I won't apologise for what I said to you, in the galley."

"I didn't ask you to."

"But I don't want you staying here."

At that, the angry, stubborn barrier Rose had built around her heart shattered, and her stony expression dropped into one of abject horror.

"W- Why?" she managed, blinking back tears.

"Because!" Theta snapped angrily, spinning round to glare at her. That dark, terrifying look was back in his eyes, appearing so suddenly and clouding his usually brown eyes, like an oncoming storm enveloping the once-blue sky. However, Rose straightened up, determined to stare him down. "Because I constantly have to look out for you, because you couldn't even fly my hoverboard without skinning your knees, because it's only a matter of time before you manage to bloody well hang yourself from the stays on the sails! Because I can't live the life I want with _you_ here!"

There was a long pause, but finally Rose found her voice.

"You can be a right bastard sometimes, you know that?"

Theta ignored her, turning back to look out across the stars.

**~StormWolf10~**

It was a sharp slap around the back of his head that startled Theta out of his daydream.

"Ow!"

"Well it bloody well serves you right!" Donna snapped, dropping down to sit beside him on the steps leading to the bow of the ship.

Theta blinked.

"How _is_ Rose?" he asked after a few moments.

Donna cuffed him round the back of the head once again.

"She's in our quarters, bloody pacing up and down and muttering under her breath about how you're a total git," Donna told him sharply, huffing.

"Yeah, well, she had it coming," Theta shrugged, trying to come across as indifferent.

But Donna knew him too well.

"Don't be such a prat, spaceman," Donna told him in annoyance. "I know you're only doing it to protect yourself. Scare Rose off, make her leave of her own accord. I know your game. And I'm telling you, you've got a bloody nerve calling Rose selfish when you're pulling a stunt like this! You're pushing her away, hurting her and building up barriers around your heart, so you don't get hurt. I get that. But you're being so bloody self-indulgent that you haven't noticed how much you've hurt Rose! She's twelve, you know what she's like with people leaving her, and then you go and bloody push her away! You need to get your priorities right, sort it out. Because if you push Rose any further, there'll be no getting her back."

Theta sighed, and watched as Donna walked away from him, back across the deck and disappearing down to the galley. Donna was right, of course, Theta knew that. If he pushed Rose away too much, she'd never forgive him, never trust him again. But then, maybe that was for the best…

**~StormWolf10~**

A week later, Theta and Rose were steadfastly ignoring each other. Rose had been avoiding Jack too, ever since she'd had that odd flashback moment, and that suited Theta just fine, as it meant he got more time to impress the Captain and prove himself. Gwen, Toshiko, Owen and Ianto had all toyed with the idea of intervening, of sitting them down and trying to get them to talk, but Jack refused to let them do so.

"I will not have my crew distracted by childish arguments," he told them one night in the Captain's quarters. "They'll have to learn to sort it out themselves."

That just left Donna, stuck in the middle between her infuriated, stubborn little sister and selfish, angry friend. Just when Donna had thought she could start enjoying her time on the Boeshane Peninsula, she found herself playing referee for the most frustrating argument she could recall in her life. She really just wanted to bash their heads together, but it would be rather difficult getting them in the same place in the same time. Both Rose and Theta had isolated themselves, even doing their chores at separate times, just so they wouldn't have to face each other. The rest of the time, Rose was holed up in hers and Donna's room, while Theta seated himself in the crow's nest, watching space pass him by. Rose had even refused to attend meals, and although Suzie was furious, insisting that they just dragged 'the stubborn brat out of her room', Ianto took to delivering her food to her room so she wouldn't miss a meal. The only time Theta came inside was for meals and sleep, although he tried to leave it as late as possible before he turned in for the night. That was how he came to overhear a conversation between Suzie and Jack. Theta didn't like Suzie very much, she'd never taken to them, and constantly referred to them as 'brats'. She seemed constantly uneasy around Rose in particular, and Theta couldn't help but think there was some sort of past thing that was causing it. And so, he couldn't help but stop and listen when, as he passed the Captain's quarters, he overheard their conversation.

"I'm just saying, you seem rather taken by those children," Suzie was saying calmly, "and perhaps it's impairing your judgement."

"My judgement," Jack ground out angrily, "is perfectly fine."

"But it's not, is it, Jack?" Suzie stated pertly. "I've seen how you look at Rose. You can't tell her, you know. You can't. That will put us all in danger, and I doubt her sister would be too happy if she found out what I'd done. Then again, neither would the boy."

There was a pause, and Theta shuffled closer to the heavy wooden door.

"I know you miss Alice, and having Rose around only seems to emphasise that. You need to step down as Captain."

Suzie's words were curt, and Theta could almost sense Jack bristling as she spoke.

"Don't bring Alice into this," he told her lowly, voice threatening. "Besides, she was younger than Rose. Years younger."

"But you could only save one, couldn't you?"

Again, it was more of a statement that left Suzie's lips, a rhetorical question. Theta swore he heard Jack stifle a sob.

"Alice…. She was before Rose, ages before… Months before. I… I shouldn't have brought her aboard, I shouldn't have taken her from her Mother, I shouldn't have let her near Yvonne…"

The next words that left Jack's lips were so quiet Theta only just heard them.

"If only she'd stayed hidden…"

There was another pause, before Suzie spoke again. The words she spoke only made Theta hate her more, hate the lack of compassion in her voice, even though Jack was evidently distraught.

"You're clearly emotionally unstable," Suzie announced calmly. "It will be for the best if I take over as Captain."


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Longest chapter yet! Read and review!**

Donna Noble sighed. It had been two weeks since Rose and Theta's argument, and they still weren't talking. Two weeks of them isolating themselves, and it had all left Donna feeling rather alone. Not that she'd tell them that, of course, but it did scare her; she found herself wishing she'd paid more attention to the pirate stories Rose would read at bedtime, just so she'd know a little more about the lifestyle. Because, without Rose and Theta to guide her, Donna was stuck. She was beginning to doubt if she wanted to go home, too. Of course, she missed her Gramps, but she was almost of age, and she dreaded to think what would be waiting for her when she returned to Astor- had a suitor already been found for her? Who was it? Donna couldn't help but wonder that, knowing her luck, it would be someone really horrid, like that Lance Bennett, who put a spider down the back of her jumper the previous year. She wouldn't mind if it was that Shaun Temple, he was quite sweet. But she'd heard rumours that he'd already been suited to Nerys. Donna shuddered at that. Poor guy probably didn't know what he was getting himself in to. Shaking her head, she returned to the washing up. She and Ianto were working in silence in the galley, tidying away the dinner things. Dinner that night had been strained, much as it had the past few days. Suzie had taken over as Captain, even though Owen had given Jack the once-over and declared him fit for duty. The crew had tried to ignore Suzie, but as she was acting Captain, it was rather difficult as they had to obey her orders. To top it all off, there'd been rumours that Torchwood had spotted them, were on their tail, and everyone had been too nervous to eat much. Donna hoped that the rumours weren't true, she really didn't want to be caught up in some sort of Pirate-feud. The thought had barely entered her mind when the sound of Jack's voice permeated the air.

"All hands on deck!"

**~StormWolf10~**

Donna and Ianto had barely made it onto the deck when the entire steamship shuddered and rocked. Donna was almost flung to the floor, but a hand grabbed her, and she looked up to see Theta grasping her arm. She smiled gratefully at him, and he returned the smile weakly. Donna opened her mouth to speak, to demand what was going on, but then the ship rocked violently again. Gwen, Toshiko and Rose spilled out onto the deck, closely followed by Owen, who was dragging a large wooden trunk behind him. Jack looked up, to see his crew all stood on the deck.

"Don't just stand there!" he bellowed frantically from his position halfway up the main mast. "Owen, Ianto, head down to the third level, you know what to do!"

Immediately, they snapped into action, the crew hurrying around. Ianto disappeared back into the ship, heading down to the lower levels with Owen, whilst Tosh and Gwen set to work opening the chest. Suzie was on the bow of the ship, attempting to steer them away from impending disaster, and it was only as the steamship was swung round that Donna saw it. They were being attacked. There was a fleet of ships, similar to the one they were on, right down to the black sails. Torchwood.

"Rose, Theta, secure the lifelines!"

Rose and Theta sprung into action, hurrying to the foremast, where ropes were secured. Together, they checked each rope, and although Donna couldn't hear what they were saying, every now and then they'd point to a rope and speak. It had taken them two weeks, but apparently all it took was for Torchwood to attack them to get them on speaking terms again. If it weren't such a dangerous situation, Donna would have rolled her eyes. But then Rose was at her side, pressing a piece of rope into her hands. At Donna's confused look, Rose hurriedly explained.

"Tie it round your waist," Rose explained quickly. "It'll stop you from falling overboard."

The ship rocked again, and Donna staggered back a few paces as she struggled to get the rope around her waist. Soon, however it was secure, and she could only watch in shock as the crew staggered around her. Jack was still halfway up the main mast, dangling precariously, whilst Suzie wrestled to steer the vessel. They rarely steered it, usually just pointed it in a direction and let themselves drift, as long as Torchwood weren't near them. But with Torchwood so close on their tail, they had to act. There was a bang, and Donna screamed as the deck tipped to an almost forty-five degree angle, sending her skidding across the deck. She was sure she was going to go overboard, but at the last minute, her rope went taut. It dug into her waist, but it held her firm, and then Suzie was wrestling the ship back into position.

"What. The hell. Was that?!" Donna demanded, wide-eyed.

"Cannon," Gwen responded, straightening up. At some point, she and Toshiko had tied the lifelines around their waists. "You didn't think we were defenceless, did you?"

Donna blinked. Well, that explained where Owen and Ianto had gone.

"Here, take this."

Donna looked up at the sound of Tosh's voice, just in time to catch a flintlock pistol. Wide-eyed, Donna gaped at it. She looked up again to see Gwen handing one to Rose. They couldn't be serious. Could they? But there was no time to question it, no time to try and refuse, as another explosion rocked the ship. At first, Donna thought it was another of their cannons, but a sharp cry from above her assured her they'd been hit. She stared up at the main mast, saw a gaping cannon hole in the sails, saw Jack clinging to the edge of the crow's nest. The force by which they'd been hit had jolted him out of the nest. Moments later, Theta was climbing up the mast, a spare lifeline in hand. Donna was so busy watching Theta that she didn't notice anything else until it was too late. The entire ship jerked, and Donna whipped round to see Torchwood boarding their ship. They were led by a tall woman in a long black coat with black breeches, boots and a white shirt. She had a faded leather tri-cornered hat on her head, and her dark blonde hair was loose around her shoulders. She had a cold smile on her face and was clutching a flintlock pistol, with another three pistols strapped to her legs.

"Well well," the woman smirked, "if it isn't the crew of the Boeshane Peninsula. And oh, look, you've got yourselves some little friends!"

The woman paused, and looked at Rose. By now, crew members of the other ships had boarded them as well, leaving them well and truly outnumbered.

"Oh, now, don't you look familiar?" the woman said to Rose, still smirking.

She began to step closer to Rose, who automatically took a step back, wide-eyed. The woman seemed familiar, but she had never met her before. Had she? Toshiko and Gwen raised their guns, as did the woman. However, just as she was about to shoot, it was flung from her hands. Theta dropped to the ground, the rope he'd swung on left to swing freely, bumping the main mast as it did so.

"I always wanted to do that!" he announced happily.

"I think your cabin boy likes to play the hero, Captain Harkness," the woman announced coolly, turning to see Jack and Suzie heading towards them.

"Leave them alone, Hartman," Jack responded coolly, already drawing a pistol from his belt.

"Oh, but Captain Harkness, I've only just begun!" Hartman responded with a smile. She then turned her attention to Suzie.

"Costello. I'd say it's lovely seeing you again, but I'd be lying. Shame. You would have made a good pirate."

Suzie kept her own gun level, only tearing her gaze from Hartman briefly to see Owen and Ianto coming back on deck, cutlasses in hand. Hartman had noticed too, and began to laugh.

"You don't really think you can outnumber us, do you?" she laughed. Her crew behind her was laughing and smirking too, sly grins on their oily faces. "Why don't you just give us the ship Captain Harkness, I'm sure there's a quaint little market planet we can leave you on."

"No thanks," Jack responded darkly, eyes narrowed.

Hartman shrugged.

"So be it," she responded.

And then, the crew behind her moved forward. Their eyes glinted, they smirked as they made their way towards the small crew. The starlight reflected off their cutlasses and pistols as they backed them into a corner. And then a gunshot was fired. A crewman staggered back, and Owen advanced, his still-smoking pistol held in front of him. That was all the encouragement the rest of the crew needed, and they leapt into action. Ianto darted forward, cutlass connecting with cutlass. Gunshots were fired, Jack was bounding up the deck, trying to push the invading crew members back onto their own ship. Gwen and Tosh was firing out bullets, kicking out at crew members, grabbing fallen swords. The deck was suddenly a hive of activity, the sounds of metal upon metal, and bullets in flesh permeating the air. There was already a tang of blood in the air as injured crew members fled to their own ships. There were still too many of them, Donna realised, holding her own pistol in her shaking hands. Too many. She had to fight. Taking a deep breath, she levelled her pistol. And fired. It met its target, taking down a pirate as the bullet tore through his leg. Donna almost dropped the gun in shock.

"Oh, god," she murmured.

But then there was no time to worry about what she'd done, as she'd attracted the attention of other pirates, they were turning to face her, and once again, Donna was levelling the pistol in her hands. Another shot was fired, and another, and another. The pirates were staggering back, some dropping to one knee, others tumbling completely. But none of them staying down. And then, as a pirate loomed above her, Donna pulled the trigger…

And nothing happened. She was out of bullets. Wide-eyed, she did the one thing she could think of; she ran. Donna darted, ducked and weaved through battling pirates, stray bullets, lifelines and cannonballs, tripping and stumbling every now and then. She didn't know where she was heading, she just wanted to get out, get away from the danger of it all. Suddenly staying on Astor and getting married and having children didn't seem so scary….

Theta had grabbed a fallen cutlass, was duelling with a large, overweight pirate, and Donna bit back a laugh. It looked like a scene from one of Rose's storybooks. But there would be time to joke and laugh later. Hours, days, months, years. Right now, they had to concentrate on surviving. There were wounded pirates scattered across the deck, some of them trying to claw their way back to their own decks, some of them still attempting to fight. Donna's brow furrowed as she surveyed the scene in front of her, the realisation hitting her like a freight train; she couldn't see Rose. Immediately, she began to panic, and she spun around, eyes darting around as she tried to spot her sister. And then, she saw her. Pistol held high and straight, pointed at Hartman as the woman advanced on her.

Everything seemed to go into slow motion then, as Donna tried to make her way across the deck. Those who had returned to their own ships had started up the cannons again, and more than once, Donna found herself face-down on the deck as she tried to avoid them. She could hear screaming, and it took her a while to work out it was herself. Donna looked up, just in time to see Hartman raise her own pistol and point it at Rose's head…

**~StormWolf10~**

This was it, Rose decided. This was it. She was going to die. The pistol was level with her forehead, and she squeezed her eyes shut. She's panicked, all the gunfire and the cannons, she'd panicked and had become stuck in that memory again, the odd one that she couldn't quite place, with Jack and the wrecked ship, and it had distracted her just enough for Hartman to back her into a corner… The woman seemed familiar, and Rose swore it had something to do with that old ship, but she just couldn't remember. And she'd never know. Because now, she was going to die. But the fatal shot never came. Somewhat gingerly, she opened her eyes, to see Suzie stood in front of her.

"Out of the way, Costello," Hartman sighed in annoyance.

"No."

"Don't be foolish!" Hartman snapped. "I'd have thought you of all people would be glad to get rid of her!"

"What I did was a mistake!" Suzie snapped back, leaving Rose even more confused. "I never meant to kill them!"

"But you did, Costello, I saw you," Hartman told her smoothly. "And I saw your face as the bullet tore through them. You enjoyed it."

"I… But…" Suzie began again, wide-eyed. She was still shielding Rose, but she was beginning to flag.

Summoning strength she didn't know she had, Rose raised her own pistol again.

"Back off, Hartman," she told the woman, hoping she sounded menacing.

Hartman just laughed, and Rose's heart sank. Beyond Hartman, Rose could see Theta, fighting several pirates, working with Jack to try and drive them back. Gwen and Tosh and Owen and Ianto were all there too, too caught up in the fight to really pay attention to what was happening behind them.

"You wouldn't be protecting her if you knew what she'd done," Hartman laughed, though her eyes were cold. "What she'd done to _you_."

Rose faltered a little at that, brow furrowing with confusion.

"She hasn't done anything to me," Rose responded. "We may not get along, but she hasn't done anything to me."

Again, Hartman laughed.

"Oh, Rose, Rose, Rose," Hartman admonished, and Rose's eyes widened. She'd never told her her name. "Didn't you ever wonder why Costello wanted you off the ship? Why she avoided you at all costs?"

Rose swallowed, and Hartman stepped round Suzie and leant close to Rose. The fights going on around them seemed to drown out, as Rose stared up at the woman in front of her. Hartman leant down and whispered in Rose's ear.

"She killed your parents."

And as she stepped away again, Rose could see the malicious grin spreading across the woman's face, and knew it was true.

**~StormWolf10~**

"_Run! Rose, just run!"_

_But Rose stayed exactly where she was. Her hazel eyes wide and teary, clutching her little soft wolf toy in her hands, she stared up at her frantic parents. Her Dad was trying to push her towards the door of their cabin, and Rose immediately began screaming. They weren't alone, Rose knew that, she knew there were people in the cabin that wasn't her Mummy and wasn't her Daddy and were strangers, and she shouldn't talk to strangers… _

"_Do it!" A woman whose voice Rose didn't recognise ordered. "Do it, Costello!"_

_And then there was a horrid, loud noise, a gunshot, and she screamed again, dropping her wolf toy and clamping her little hands over her ears. The person then ran out of the cabin, only glancing at her as they ran past. They were women in men's clothes. They was tall, slim, dressed in funny-looking clothes, like a lot of the other scary-looking people who'd suddenly boarded the ship they were on. They had pistols in their hands too, and they took one look at Rose before fleeing. Shaking, she reached down and grabbed her fluffy wolf toy, clutching it to her chest. Her feet carried her back inside the room, but before she could take it all in, there was a shadow in the doorway. Rose turned, looking up. And up. And up. And there he was. The man was very tall, and he had dark brown hair and nice blue eyes and a long blue coat._

"_Take my hand," he told her, reaching for her. "We need to get you away from here, sweetheart. Get you away from all this. I'll keep you safe."_

And then, Rose felt a hand in her own. She looked up, and there was Captain Jack Harkness, pistol in hand as he pointed it at Hartman.

"Never could resist saving the child, could you, Captain?" Hartman asked with a cold smirk. "Was that to make up for the fact you couldn't even save your own daughter?"

Jack's lips contorted into a snarl, but before he could shoot, Hartman had grabbed Suzie, pressing her pistol to the woman's forehead.

"One move and I shoot."

Jack paused momentarily, undecided whether to shoot or not. And then, he lowered his gun. Just as Hartman bodily slammed Suzie into the side of the ship, hauling her up and over.

"No!" Jack yelled, abandoning Rose as he lurched forward.

But Suzie was already tumbling into the abyss…

**~StormWolf10~**

By the time Donna reached her sister's side, Suzie was long-gone. So were most of the pirates. Some had fallen overboard during the fight, like Suzie, some had fallen in their haste to get back to their own ships. Some had boarded their own ships and turned and ran in fright. Either way, only the crew from Hartman's ship were left. It was rather amusing, Donna decided later, that a twenty-strong fleet of Torchwood pirates had been intimidated by a crew of six and three kids. Hartman was looking rather pleased with herself, and she sauntered back up the deck of the ship.

"We'll be taking this steamship off your hands now, Captain Harkness," she announced calmly.

"I don't think so," Jack responded, with a short, humourless laugh.

Gwen, Tosh, Owen and Ianto had joined them, and together, they circled Hartman, beginning to back her towards the ramp leading to her ship.

"I'll get this ship back sooner or later, Captain," Hartman informed him with a smirk. "I just thought I'd give you the chance to surrender peacefully." She shrugged, stepping up casually onto the plank leading to her ship. "Next time I won't be so nice about it."

Jack frowned, watching Hartman climb back onto her own ship. Moments later, the fleet of Torchwood ships were leaving.

"That was easy," Donna piped up in confusion.

"Too easy," Jack agreed lowly.

"If she wanted the ship, why didn't she just take it?" Gwen added.

Jack shook his head.

"I'm not sure," he admitted after a few moments. "But we'd better keep our eyes peeled. They're playing a dangerous game, and I refuse to sail straight into a trap."

"Looks like you already did, Harkness,"

The crew spun around, wide-eyed at the voice.

"Ah," Theta murmured as he took in the sight in front of him. "Well, that explained why all the crew seemed to disappear so fast."

Torchwood pirates were still onboard.

**~StormWolf10~**

There weren't as many Torchwood pirates as there'd been earlier, Theta noted, maybe a dozen, but that still outnumbered them. They were surrounded, the pirates circling them like hungry space piranhas, and, to his right he heard Donna gulp and adjust her hold on the flintlock pistol, even though he was sure she was out of bullets. To his left, Rose mirrored her sister's movements, raising her pistol in front of her, hands shaking. Taking a deep breath, Theta raised his cutlass… And charged. He shoulder-barged the unfortunately slight pirate in front of him, easily bowling him over, and as the rest of the crew tumbled pirates, Theta couldn't help but notice that the pirates Hartman had left behind weren't particularly good. That should give them an advantage. There was a thud, a crack, and a scream behind him, and Theta whipped round. The side of the ship had given away, splintered. It had evidently been weakened by the constant flinging of pirates against it, the bullets and the cannon balls. A quick look around assured him that it had been one of the Torchwood crew that had tumbled overboard, and Theta steeled himself, raising the cutlass just in time to parry a blow that would have surely been fatal. One by one, pirates went down. Driven over the edge of the ship, by accident or by desperate fear. Theta decided he didn't want to see just where they were falling. The broken bodies didn't bear thinking about. And that's if they were close enough to a planet to land in orbit, else they'd just… Drift. Then, it went quiet. Theta blinked. He looked around. The pirates had fallen overboard. He allowed himself to smile, a relieved, slightly-hysterical smile, and he dropped the cutlass to the ground. He saw Donna, looking shocked, and he rushed over to her. There was blood on her arm, and he immediately panicked.

"Donna! Are you alright? Are you hurt?"

Donna, however, shook her head, a small laugh escaping her.

"Nah, hit one of the pirates over the head with the butt of the pistol," she told him.

Theta couldn't help but laugh, and he swept his friend into a hug. The rest of the crew were doing the same, hugging and laughing and joking. But then, Theta stopped. Donna and Rose had been issued with pistols. Immediately, he rounded on the Captain.

"What the hell were you playing at?!"

"I'm sorry?" Jack asked, eyebrow arched.

"Giving two young ladies pistols! What the hell were you doing?!" Theta snapped back.

"They had to fight!" Jack ground out, stepping closer to Theta. There wasn't much height difference between them, they could see eye-to-eye, and the rest of the crew watched nervously.

"They're not even of age!" Theta continued angrily.

"No, but for now, they are part of the crew!" Jack shot back. "And as part of the crew, they must fight during an ambush!"

Theta shook his head in disgust, taking a step back, so he was beside Donna again.

"That's the third level, isn't it?" Theta asked suddenly, voice low. "You told Ianto and Owen to go down to the third level, and all of a sudden we had cannons blazing!" Then, he said accusingly: "You've got a weapons deck!"

Jack scoffed.

"I told you we had weapons! I told you that the weapons would have to be tidied away each night, only we hadn't had to use weapons yet! Do you really think we'd be foolish enough to not be armed, with Torchwood chasing us?!"

"You said weapons," Theta agreed, voice low, "but you didn't bloody mention there was an entire deck of them! I was expecting a few cutlasses, maybe a rifle or two, and some pistols! Instead you've got an entire bloody armoury!"

Jack opened his mouth to respond, but nothing came out. And then, there was a scream. And a gunshot. They spun round, to see Rose in front of the Captain's quarters, the door open, smoking pistol held in her shaking hands as she stared, wide-eyed at the pirate stretched out on the deck.

"What happened?" Theta demanded, immediately abandoning the argument with Jack to hurry to Rose.

Gwen got there first, trying to ease the pistol from Rose's hands, but the girl gripped it tight. She was trembling, wide-eyed, not looking up from the pirate. Already, blood was seeping across the wooden deck.

"I… I… He followed me," Rose managed after a while, never tearing her gaze from the pirate, even as Owen bent over him. "He followed me inside, t- tried to grab me… Pushed me up against the wall…"

At that stuttered sentence, Donna gasped, and Theta closed his eyes for a moment, jaw set. When he opened his eyes again, they were dark, as they had been the first time he and Rose had argued. Dark and angry and oh so terrifying.

"Did he touch you, Rose?" Ianto chipped in, concerned.

Rose shook her head, silent tears streaming down her cheeks.

"No. I hit him over the head with my pistol."

Donna allowed herself to smirk slightly at that, and Jack chuckled.

"Your sister did the same," Jack told her with a small smile.

Rose smiled weakly back, glancing up at the Captain. But then she glanced back at the body again and the smile dropped. Owen straightened up and shook his head at Jack. Panicked, Donna watched the exchange.

"What?" she asked. "Why are you shaking your head?"

"Donna, he's dead," Owen responded calmly, gesturing at the body that lay beside them.

There was a thud, and they looked round to see that Rose had dropped the pistol to the deck. She managed to get out a choked "No!" and staggered away, almost tripping. Theta quickly moved to steady her, and Rose flung herself into him, sobbing into his chest. Theta's arms immediately went around her hugging her to him, as she sobbed into his chest, her voice muffled as she insisted that "I didn't mean to! Oh god, I didn't mean to!" over and over again. Theta dropped a kiss on the top of her head and then, eyes still dark, looked up at Jack.

"You still think it was such a good idea handing her that pistol, Captain?"


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Shorter chapter here, but I've been a little caught up in the return to college… Read and review!**

The next morning, Donna was jerked awake. She was certain it was still early, and she felt absolutely exhausted from the evening before; the ambush had shaken the lot of them, and they'd spent a good few hours in the galley together- in silence- just… Sitting there. Rose had seated herself on Theta's lap and refused to move, and Theta had been happy to let her stay there as silent tears spilled down her cheeks. And it was then that Donna realised why she'd woken so abruptly. Rose was crying again. Through the gloom of their cabin, she could just about make out her sister's bed, and Rose curled on her side, facing the wall. With a small sigh, Donna kicked back her blankets and crossed to Rose's bed, lighting the candle on the table beside it.

"Rose?"

Rose stiffened, having realised that Donna was no longer asleep. She didn't look round. Donna seated herself on the edge of the bed, being able to see her little sister better now the candle had been lit.

"Rose, it's alright-" Donna began again.

"'S not!" Rose protested, voice slightly muffled by her pillow. "'S not alright, it won't ever be alright!"

"Rose, just calm down," Donna told her sister gently, one hand on the girl's shoulder. She took it as a good sign that Rose didn't try and shrug her off. "No one blames you for what happened."

"But they should! 'S all my fault! I killed him!"

"You acted out of fear," Donna responded calmly. "I'd have done the same; anyone would have done the same. You were protecting yourself."

Rose, however, had resumed sobbing into her pillow. Knowing exactly what to do to calm her, Donna shifted herself beneath the blankets and laid down next to Rose.

"Why don't you try and get some sleep?" Donna suggested quietly, stifling a yawn herself. "It's late."

Rose shook her head.

"Don't wanna sleep," she responded, although it was evident by the sound of her voice that she was getting tired.

"Why not?" Donna asked, instinctively knowing that something was wrong.

"I… I kept seein' him. In my dreams. That pirate," Rose explained hesitantly. "An' Suzie."

Donna closed her eyes briefly, mentally admonishing herself. Her baby sister had been having nightmares, and she'd somehow just slept straight through them. Had they been at home, Wilf would have been there in a heartbeat, comforting her. But they weren't at home, and Wilf wasn't there. So it was up to Donna.

She slipped an arm round Rose's waist, tugging her onto her back. The bed was narrow, and it was a bit of a tight squeeze, particularly because the two girls hadn't shared a bed since Rose was seven. They managed it, though, and soon Rose was looking up at her sister with tear-filled eyes.

"Wanna talk about it?" Donna asked gently.

She watched as Rose's brow furrowed for a few moments as she thought. And then, she spoke.

"She killed my parents," Rose began softly, brow still furrowed. "My birth parents, Suzie killed them."

"How do you know that?" Donna asked, trying to remain calm even though every hair on the back of her neck had just stood up and a chill ran down her spine. She'd brought her baby sister onboard a steamship that had been home to the woman who'd killed her parents.

"Hartman told me," Rose told Donna quietly. "Said so, said she watched her kill them. An' she's right. Because…" Rose trailed off, frowning even further, before continuing in a voice so soft that Donna only just heard it. "Because I remember it."

**~StormWolf10~**

Jack and Theta weren't on speaking terms. In fact, they were steadfastly ignoring each other. The atmosphere in the galley before breakfast was pained and tense, and Owen had muttered something under his breath about how Jack had called Theta and Rose childish when they'd ignored each other, and how that just made him a childish hypocrite. Still, the ambush the previous day was still fresh in everybody's minds, and when Donna and Rose joined them for breakfast, they realised they weren't the only ones who hadn't slept well the previous night.

"We'll have to see about getting you two some more clothes," Gwen told Donna and Rose, in an attempt to break the horrid silence. "If we keep washing those clothes any more they'll fall apart."

Like Theta, the girls didn't own many clothes- in fact, they actually only had one outfit each, due to not packing- and they were beginning to fray around the edges. Each night, their clothes were dumped in a bucket of water for an hour or two and then hung up to dry whilst they slept. Whatever it was the crew of the Boeshane Peninsula used to wash their clothes, it did the trick, and their clothes were always good as new the next day, but Donna and Rose both knew that if it went on much longer, their clothes would literally fall apart on them. And that would do no good when there were four men onboard.

"But we can't stop off now," Donna responded with a frown. "Not after that scrape with Torchwood yesterday."

"Gwen and I have some stuff you can borrow for now," Tosh responded calmly. "And then once we're sure we're far enough away from Torchwood, we can make a pit stop. We need to restock the food anyway."

Donna nodded, but Rose didn't respond at all. Donna wasn't sure it was because she didn't want to acknowledge the fact she'd- at least for a while- have to wear women's clothes, or because her nightmare was still fresh in her mind. Either way, Donna didn't press her for an answer.

"What did you do with the body?" Theta asked suddenly, surprising everyone.

"Well, we… We threw it overboard," Owen admitted, glancing at Rose as he spoke.

Theta nodded, pushing his porridge around the bowl. None of them seemed particularly hungry, the dead bodies still vivid in their minds, and soon Ianto was clearing away the breakfast things, vast amounts of porridge going to waste. Rose had remained silent throughout the meal, sat so close to Theta that Donna wasn't a hundred percent certain they weren't sharing a chair. Still, she supposed it would do Rose good, to be close to Theta again, particularly after her nightmares the previous night. Soon, the rest of the crew were standing up, leaving the galley table, making their way up onto deck. Donna thought she heard Jack say something about giving her, Theta and Rose the day off from their duties, but she couldn't be sure. And then, Ianto was following the others out of the kitchen, and they were alone.

"H- How did you sleep last night?" Theta asked the two girls in concern.

Donna shrugged.

"On and off," she admitted carefully, before nodding at Rose. "Was woken early by Rose. She was having nightmares."

Rose scowled at her older sister, but it had little effect due to how tired she looked. Instead, she concentrated on the feel of Theta slipping his hand into hers and squeezing it reassuringly.

"I… It was about Suzie. And that pirate." Rose murmured, leaning into Theta as she spoke.

She felt Theta sigh, felt him pull her against him a bit more, felt his arm go around her.

"I'm sorry," he murmured, so quietly she almost didn't hear. "I should never have brought you here."

For once, neither Rose nor Donna had a response.

**~StormWolf10~**

"I… I think that's why I recognised Jack, too."

It was no more than two hours after breakfast, and Rose, Theta and Donna had moved into Rose and Donna's room. Donna didn't miss how Rose had settled herself on Theta's lap again. Rose had just finished explaining to Theta about what Suzie had done, what Hartman had told Rose Suzie had done to her parents. What she remembered.

"It must have been when they'd just joined Torchwood," Theta responded, brow furrowed. "I don't think any of them worked for Torchwood more than ten years."

"And with Suzie gone, the only person to ask is Jack," Donna stated with a sigh.

Theta nodded.

"It seems that the Captain is the only one who can shed some light on the situation," Theta agreed. "Why don't we see if we can find him and have a chat?"

Rose looked wide-eyed from Theta to Donna, before nodding. She slipped off Theta's lap, but kept her hand firmly in his. They ascended the stairs together, moving across the ship's deck in a huddled trio as they headed for the Captain's Quarters. It was Donna who knocked on the door, and Donna who opened it when they heard Jack call an affirmative. The trio stepped into the room, remaining in a cluster.

"Ah, hello! What can I do for you three?" Jack asked, a grin on his face.

He was sat at a large mahogany desk, feet on the table as he lounged in the chair, tossing an info-sphere up and down casually.

"Rose had nightmares last night," Donna said, voice surprisingly level.

"Oh," Jack responded, brow furrowing. "I'm sorry to hear that."

He dropped the info-sphere onto the desk, swinging his legs off the desk to lean forward in his chair. He could tell that it would be a serious conversation.

"Kept having nightmares about Suzie. About what Hartman said to her," Theta added, recalling what Rose had told them.

Jack's brow furrowed further.

"What?" he asked. "What did Hartman say?"

"She said Suzie had killed my parents."

Rose's quiet voice shocked all of them, and suddenly all eyes were on the trembling twelve year old.

"Hartman said that Suzie killed my parents, and she was right, because I remember. I remember seeing Suzie and Hartman, coming out of my parents' cabin, on the steamliner we were on. And… And I remember you."

Jack stiffened at that, blue eyes staring at Rose in shock. It was several moments before he spoke.

"I'm so sorry, Rose."

"Then it's true?" Donna asked, feeling a sinking feeling in her stomach.

Jack nodded slowly.

"I… I did my best, got you away from there. Took you myself, on a small steamship to Astor. Left you at the inn." Jack's voice was soft, quiet, and then a slight smile spread across his lips. "You screamed the entire way, kept kicking and biting me."

"Tell us everything," Theta cut in quickly.

Jack blinked.

"I… I don't think that's a good idea," Jack said eventually, gaze flitting to Rose momentarily.

Theta's jaw clenched, and he squeezed Rose's hand.

"It's my past!" Rose piped up suddenly, glaring at the Captain. "I have a right to know!"

Jack looked away, staring at the opposite wall.

"Captain," Donna hinted, arms folded across her chest. "You need to tell us what happened on that steamship. The steamship you helped Torchwood board."

Jack glanced back over at them, seemingly weighing up his options in his head. There was a brief moment- a very brief moment- when Jack sat back in his chair, and Theta was convinced the Captain was about to spill everything, explain to them about what had happened to Rose's parents. And then, Jack spoke.

"I have to see to something."

Then Jack was hurrying out of the room, leaving Theta, Donna and Rose behind him…


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Oh, I cannot tell you how excited I was for this chapter! Had me giggling uncontrollably at the mere thought of it. And poor Theta in this chapter, things are about to get a whole lot *ahem* **_**harder**_** for him… ;)**

Wilfred Mott sighed. It had been over two months since the disappearance of his granddaughters. They'd disappeared without a trace, and Wilf was almost certain that they'd fled on a steamship with Theta. Donna would be sixteen now, Wilf realised, she would be recognised as an adult when- if- she returned, and she would have to get rid of the peasant blouses and corset tops and tan leggings to start wearing the Astorian women's fashion; long, flowing sleeveless dresses. That probably wouldn't bother Donna, Wilf decided. She'd always liked dressing up as a young girl. But it would be different, when she returned to Astor it would be different, for all of them. Donna would be married off almost immediately, of that Wilf was sure. He doubted she'd be back home more than a month before she was moving in with her new husband. Wilf wasn't sure he liked that, and he was certain that Rose would like that. But there was nothing he could do about it, it was the Astorian custom. But he was sure that Theta was keeping them safe, Wilf knew that as much as the boy broke the law, he wasn't bad really. He was just adventurous, and fed up with being stuck on Astor. Wilf couldn't blame him. He understood how Theta felt. Still, he was beginning to wish Donna and Rose had never become friends with him…

**~StormWolf10~**

Theta Sigma was staring. He was well-aware of the fact he was staring, but he couldn't seem to stop. It had started out as a routine check of the stays and sails, something he and Rose had done numerous times since joining the Boeshane Peninsula crew eight and a half weeks ago. But then Rose had climbed up ahead of him, giving Theta a view of… Well, _her_. And since then, he couldn't seem to stop staring. Rose was talking, yelling things down to him about the state of the sails and the stays, but he wasn't sure if she was yelling down good things or bad things; he wasn't really listening…

It was a cuff around the back of the head that finally tore Theta's gaze from Rose. He looked round, wide-eyed to see an unimpressed Jack stood beside him, eyebrow arched. Ever since they'd tried to get information on Rose's birth parents out of the Captain, Jack had withdrawn, becoming more of the distant, somewhat cold Captain they'd first encountered onboard the ship, and it was making Theta, Donna and Rose uneasy.

"You have time to ogle Rose as much as you want after your duties are carried out," Jack told Theta sternly. Theta noticed how the corner of the Captain's mouth twitched ever-so-slightly, as if he wanted to smirk.

Jack didn't smirk, however, and Theta swallowed.

"I… I was just-"

"What?" Jack asked, interrupting Theta. "Checking she wouldn't fall off? Making sure her lifeline was secure?"

"I was just noticing that Rose perhaps needs new clothes," Theta corrected lowly, gesturing significantly at Rose, who was oblivious to the conversation going on below her.

Jack looked at Rose then, really, truly looked at Rose. And he realised just what Theta meant.

"I'll have a word with Gwen and Toshiko," Jack told Theta calmly, returning his attention to the young man beside him. "See about getting her some new clothes."

And then, Jack turned and headed inside, presumably to find Gwen and Tosh. Theta returned his attention to Rose, wondering if he should tell Donna. But Donna would notice, wouldn't she? If Theta had noticed, surely Rose's own sister had noticed? But then, Donna didn't really look at Rose while she was halfway up the mast (and truth be told, Theta knew _he_ shouldn't really look at Rose while she was halfway up the mast), and he wasn't even sure Rose had noticed. But she must have, hadn't she? She must have noticed that her clothes were a little tighter around her hips, that she suddenly had curves… Rose had always been slim, had always been straight up and down, and her loose clothes hadn't helped. But now, even despite the men's clothes she wore, it was obvious to Theta that Rose's hips had gotten wider, that she'd developed a waist, that her… ahem, _chest area_ was slightly more visible through the thin shirt. Theta mentally shrugged, and quickly averted his gaze as Rose began climbing back down from the mast. The whole thing was making him uncomfortable, and he found that even as he looked out across the stars he could still see Rose's body in his mind's eye… Theta swallowed. It was all too apparent that Rose had hit puberty. And things were about to get a lot more complicated…

**~StormWolf10~**

Rose was a little disheartened at dinner that night, mostly because Theta had deliberately seated himself up the other end of the table, with Donna between them. She wasn't entirely sure why, but Donna's eyes were narrowed at Theta, while he just looked… Well, _flushed_. That just confused Rose further, although she rationalised that he was probably coming down with some sort of fever, and didn't want her to catch it. She was oblivious to the subtle glances the rest of the crew gave her throughout the meal, and it was Rose herself who maintained the steady teatime chatter. Donna chipped in every now and then, as did everyone else except Theta, and Rose could not fathom why.

"Well, I've got stuff to be getting on with," Theta announced once he'd cleared his plate, getting to his feet. "I'll see you all tomorrow."

"What stuff?" Rose asked, brow furrowing in confusion as Theta made to head to his room.

Theta blushed awkwardly as he shrugged, and when Rose glanced to Donna hoping she could shed some light on the matter, her sister was looking disgusted.

"Just… Stuff," Theta replied. "I'm compiling a star chart of places we've passed."

Donna's eyebrow arched at that, sceptical, but Rose readily accepted the answer.

"Ok," she nodded with a small smile, "have fun."

Theta hurried from the room.

**~StormWolf10~**

After dinner, Rose and Donna stayed with everyone in the galley for a bit, even helping Ianto with the washing up, but after an hour or two, retreated to their room. Donna, of course, was well aware of what was happening to Rose, and she, Gwen and Toshiko had formulated a plan earlier that day; Donna would break the situation to Rose first, only using Gwen and Tosh as back-up in case Rose felt uncomfortable with them being there, and then when it was all explained, Tosh and Gwen would join them anyway and try to sort some stuff out for Rose.

"Rose," Donna began a little awkwardly as they sat alone in their room, "have you noticed anything… _different_ about yourself recently?"

Rose's brow furrowed as she stared back at her sister.

"My hair could do with a cut. 'S that what you mean?" Rose asked, apparently oblivious.

"Well it could, but that's not what I mean," Donna responded, feeling a little embarrassed.

This was silly, Donna scolded herself. She was a sixteen year old Astorian woman. She was old enough now to marry and go about bringing her own children into the world. She should be perfectly capable of having this talk with her twelve year old sister… Except she wasn't. Donna's shoulders slumped at that. She was of age, yes, but she didn't feel like a woman, didn't feel mature enough, didn't feel ready enough… But now wasn't the time to be worrying about herself. Now was about Rose.

"I mean," Donna started again, ignoring the odd look the twelve year old was giving her, "have you noticed anything different about your body?"

The blush that covered Rose's face and neck said it all. She knew. Well, Donna supposed, that made it a bit easier… Or not, she decided, as Rose promptly flopped down on her bed with her back to her, and pulled the blankets up over her head. With a sigh, Donna got up and moved from her own bed to sit on the edge of Rose's.

"Rose," Donna began cautiously, "we need to talk about this. It's not something we can ignore."

"Yeah we can!" came Rose's muffled reply.

Donna snorted.

"Rose, we can't ignore this! For a start, you won't be able to wear those clothes much longer!"

"Why?" Rose demanded suddenly, turning round to look at Donna, brow furrowed.

"Rose, guys' clothes aren't made for teenage girls! They won't fit properly. You've hit puberty, you have to admit that. Have to admit that you're… That you're growing up."

"I don't wanna grow up," Rose muttered bitterly. "And I don't wanna wear girls' clothes."

Donna sighed again. She could only recall Rose wearing girls' clothes for a week, when she'd first come to their house. Rose had only been three, and Donna six, but she'd moaned and complained and cried and screamed all week until Geoff and Sylvia had given in and dressed her in boys' clothes instead.

"Be that as it may, Rose," Donna responded, trying to keep her voice level, "we have to talk about this. It needs to be explained to you, and there's no hiding from it."

With a pout, Rose reluctantly nodded.

**~StormWolf10~**

"Right then," Gwen announced happily, clapping her hands together, "let's see what we can find for you, yeah?"

Rose blinked and arched an eyebrow at Gwen, unimpressed. She'd slept uneasily the night before, after Donna had finally- somewhat awkwardly- explained about puberty to her. They hadn't had to call in Tosh and Gwen, and that was probably a good thing, as Rose had been embarrassed enough with just Donna in the room. But now it was the next morning, there was the slight problem that Rose had no clothes to wear. She'd dressed, of course, but even she couldn't ignore the fact her trousers felt a little too tight around her hips, made her feel fat, and that her top perhaps wasn't as loose around her chest as it had been. And so Gwen and Tosh had been drafted in with all their old clothes, to find something for both Rose to wear. Donna had been borrowing clothes from the two older women for some time, and didn't really mind it, but she knew her sister would be reluctant.

"Any particular colours in mind?" Tosh asked with a kind smile.

Rose looked at her, face passive.

"Grey."

Tosh and Gwen blinked and looked at each other.

"Well, uh, let's see what we've got, yeah? Not sure we have much grey," Gwen admitted, momentarily stunned. "How about purple? Dark blue?"

Rose didn't reply immediately, and Donna sighed.

"Look," Gwen said again, a kind smile on her face despite how difficult Rose was being, "I know you're not particularly girly. Neither am I, and even Tosh isn't that girly… I suppose what I'm saying is our clothes probably aren't that bad."

Tosh smirked slightly at that, and Rose nodded after a few moments.

"We'll see if we can get you some stuff of your own when we stop off for supplies," Tosh suggested brightly. "Ianto's been complaining that we need to restock the galley, I'm sure we can get you your own clothes while we're on a market planet. Might even be able to find some boys' clothes that will fit better than your old ones."

At that, Rose visibly brightened, and took the clothes Gwen had offered her.

**~StormWolf10~**

"How'd it go earlier with Little Miss Just-hit-puberty?" Owen asked that night.

"About as well as can be expected," Gwen admitted. "She took a little convincing to borrow clothes from me and Tosh."

"But you wear trousers all the time!" Ianto frowned.

"Yeah, but they're still women's' clothes, aren't they," Tosh pointed out.

Ianto shrugged. It was true, neither Tosh nor Gwen were particularly girly, and their clothing reflected that. Also, having worked for Torchwood, they knew that dresses or skirts weren't the best attire to be fighting in. While the men's clothes virtually mirrored the clothes Theta had brought with him from Astor- Jodhpur breeches, a loose long-sleeve shirt and a waistcoat-, Gwen's and Tosh's clothes were very similar to what Donna wore, and what was custom for underage Astorian girls to wear- dark breeches with a peasant blouse and corset top. The only differences were that- while Ianto wore a waistcoat most of the time- the Boeshane men all owned long coats like out of one of Rose's pirate stories, and Gwen's and Tosh's breeches were made of thicker material than the ones Donna owned.

"She's taken it ok, though, yeah?" Jack asked worriedly, speaking for the first time.

Both Tosh and Gwen nodded.

"Embarrassed, but she seemed to take it all ok," Tosh agreed.

"Good," Jack responded, his relief evident in his face, and the crew frowned at him in confusion. Jack blinked, and quickly continued talking. "Can't do to have her slacking on her chores."


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Another chapter! For those asking, yes 'Theta' and 'Sigma' are in the Greek alphabet, but are also Greek numerals- 'Theta' has the value of 'nine'.**

"Here we go!" Donna announced, dropping a pile of clothes onto Rose's bed.

Rose blinked, brow furrowing as she finished tying up her hair.

"What's that?" she asked, frowning at her sister.

"Clothes," Donna replied calmly. "Tosh and Gwen managed to get some old clothes from Ianto, Owen and Jack. They might be a little too big, but we tailored them to fit you better."

"Oh," Rose responded, shocked, "thanks."

She began sifting through the clothes in the pile, pulling out a black pair of breeches, a loose shirt and a grey waistcoat.

"Like Gwen and Tosh said yesterday," Donna piped up again, "we'll probably be stopping off at a market planet soon, and we can get you some clothes that actually belong to you."

Rose nodded, stripping off her borrowed clothes to replace them. At least now they had more than one outfit each; Donna had also borrowed clothes from Tosh and Gwen, and it at least meant that they didn't have to wash and dry their clothes every night.

"Do you know why Theta's avoiding me?" Rose asked suddenly as she finished redressing.

Donna's eyes widened momentarily, before frantically shaking her head. She had her suspicions, of course, but nothing solid to go on.

"No," she responded, still shaking her head. "How would I know? Our Spaceman's a complete enigma! Lost in his own world most of the time. No idea what's going through his head."

"I suppose so," Rose sighed. "D'you think I should go talk to him?"

"I'd leave it," Donna replied quickly. "It's probably just one of his moods."

Rose nodded, although she looked unconvinced. Having known Theta for as long as she had, Rose was well-aware of his 'moods'. Several times when they were younger he'd disappear off for days on end, refusing to step out of his room in the Home as he brooded and sulked. He was usually energetic and outgoing, but every now and then, he'd slip into a mood and avoid them for days on end. Still, Rose wasn't quite sure that that was what was happening then. But before she could query it, Donna was talking again, showing off a top Toshiko had leant her, and Rose was forced to smile and nod. It could wait, she decided. She could speak to Theta later.

**~StormWolf10~**

"What you up to?"

Theta blinked, and turned around to see Donna stood in the doorway of his room. Owen was somewhere in the lower decks, leaving Theta to his own devices, and he'd been busily mapping out star constellations.

"Mapping out the star constellations we've passed," he responded, not looking up from where he sat at a desk.

Donna nodded, sauntering across the room.

"So you're not avoiding Rose, then?" she asked casually.

"A- Avoiding Rose?" Theta squeaked, staring up at Donna, wide-eyed. "Who said I was avoiding Rose?"

"No one," Donna replied calmly. "Just asking."

There was a pause, and Donna grinned, seating herself on the edge of Theta's bed.

"But while we're talking about Rose, why _are_ you avoiding her?"

Theta swallowed.

"She knows you're avoiding her," Donna continued. "She asked me earlier if she should come speak to you."

Theta stiffened at that, but didn't turn around.

"Theta?" Donna prompted when he didn't respond.

"What, Donna?" he snapped suddenly. "Don't you have to go help Ianto in the galley?"

Donna blinked. And then glared.

"Listen, Spaceman, I don't know what's gotten into you recently, but you've been nothing but a misery! If this is you trying to protect your heart again, you're doing a crap job! All you're doing is isolating yourself and hurting Rose! What's brought this on?"

"What do you think?!" Theta demanded suddenly, out of his chair and pacing the room. "What the hell do you think, Donna? It's Rose, it all comes back down to Rose! I can't… I can't even be around her now, it's too…"

Donna's eyes widened.

"Oh my god!" she realised, torn between amusement and dismay. "It's Rose! You can't be around Rose!"

Theta blushed beet red.

"It was fine… It was manageable before… Before she hit puberty," he explained evasively. "And after that, things just got…"

"Harder?" Donna suggested.

Theta blanched, and Donna realised just what she'd said. It was her turn to blush, then.

"Hang on," Donna suddenly realised, "you said 'it was manageable'. That means… Oh my god, Theta!"

Theta yelped as Donna suddenly slapped his arm.

"Ow! What was that for?" he demanded, rubbing his arm.

"She's twelve! She's bloody twelve, Theta!"

"I'm perfectly aware of that, Red," Theta responded coolly. "But if you hadn't noticed, I hit puberty a few years back."

And it was then that Donna realised. Theta had felt that was about Rose for the past few years. But had it just been about Rose, or girls in general? He was a teenage boy, after all. However, Donna didn't particularly want to ask him.

"Because that's the thing, Donna," Theta sighed quietly. "I… I care for Rose. I really do. I care for you too, of course, but we're more like brother and sister. But Rose…"

He couldn't say it, Donna realised, he was too scared to say it. But she knew, of course she knew. She was kicking herself for not realising sooner. Her best friend loved her little sister. Her little, underage sister. Donna fought back a groan at that. As much as she thought they were suited to one another, she couldn't set them up together, Rose was far too young for that. Just another three and a half years… Donna did groan at that, and Theta frowned.

"She's only twelve, Theta!" Donna repeated her words from a few moments before.

"Well, it wasn't like I chose for this to happen, Donna!" Theta pointed out, brow furrowed and voice rising again. He then sighed. "But that's why I was so against Jack giving her a pistol. Giving you both a pistol. You're like the little sister I never had, but Rose… Rose means so much to me, Donna! And she's still so young! To hand her a pistol, to make her fight, to put her in a situation where she may feel the need to fire that pistol!"

"I know," Donna agreed quietly. "You want to protect her. We both do." She then gave Theta a wry smile. "Maybe we both need to realise that Rose isn't some fragile little kid who needs protecting. She's almost a teenager. A few years, and she'll be legal age. She can handle herself. We just can't handle her handling herself."

Theta smiled sadly at that, nodding in agreement.

**~StormWolf10~**

Rose sat on deck, staring out as star constellations passed them by. Donna had hurried off rather quickly, after she'd shown off her new borrowed clothes. Rose could understand that Donna liked new clothes, and liked to show them off, but she'd changed the subject so… abruptly. And she couldn't figure out why Donna had told her to leave Theta alone for a bit. Ok, it might be one of his moods, but what if it wasn't? What if something was horribly, horribly wrong? He'd been acting out of sorts for the past three or four days. Had he gotten space-sick? Rose sighed. It just felt like everyone was keeping things from her, all the time. She wasn't a little kid; she really wasn't, so why were people treating her like that? She wasn't going to break like a china doll; she wasn't going to break down in tears. She'd killed a man- albeit accidentally-, she'd learned to fire a pistol. So why were they keeping things from her? Jack still was avoiding her; refusing to talk about the flashbacks Rose had had to a much younger him, when she was just a little girl. He wouldn't explain it, wouldn't even _acknowledge_ it… And Theta. Theta had locked himself away, compiling maps of star constellations, completely out of the blue. Avoiding Rose day and night, not even looking at her during meals. Just what was going on?!

**~StormWolf10~**

Wilfred Mott was humming to himself as he headed to lock up the Shooting Star Inn for the night. As had become the custom for the past eight and a half weeks, he stepped outside for a few moments, staring up at the night sky. His granddaughters were out there, somewhere, among the stars. At least, he hoped they were. Any number of things could have happened to them; they could have become ill, hurt, killed-

He stopped himself there, mentally berating himself. His granddaughters were strong. He would be pleased for them, pleased that they were getting to live an exciting, adventurous life among the stars. They had Theta with them, he'd keep them safe, protect them… But what if he'd been hurt too?

Physically shaking his head that time, Wilf headed inside, locking the inn door. He made his way through to the private quarters, heading for the kitchen when he passed Donna's and Rose's room. He stopped. He stared. He pushed open the door. The room hadn't changed since the night they'd left, Wilf hadn't touched it not one little bit. With a sigh, he stepped into the room, gazing around. The beds were unmade, schoolbooks were piled on the small desks the girls owned, clothes littered the floor. Wilf picked his way through the mess, reaching Rose's bed and sinking onto it as tears welled in his eyes. He felt something slightly lumpy beneath the blankets, something he'd just sat on. He frowned, reaching under the blankets to pull it out. Rose's wolf toy. Grey, dog-eared and battered, the wolf toy looked like it needed a good wash, but Wilf had never been able to pry it away from the girl, even when she was at school, she'd come home and instinctively known if Wilf had tried to wash the toy. But she wasn't at school now; Rose wouldn't come barrelling through the door, yelling at him not to wash her toy wolf. She may never again. And with that one final thought, Wilf let the tears fall.


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: New chapter! All this story is planned out now, just needs to be written up.**

"Stick close to us," Jack instructed as he watched Theta, Donna and Rose disembark from the Boeshane Peninsula. "It's busy here, and the last thing I need is you three wandering off."

Theta looked a little disheartened that he couldn't go off and explore, but Donna nodded furiously, elbowing him in the ribs to make him nod too. Rose just looked uncertain about the whole thing.

"Where even _are_ we?" Donna asked as Jack began leading the group out of the spaceport.

There were stalls everywhere, with only a narrow passage for people to walk past. There didn't seem to be any sort of particular layout, and the stalls looked like they'd just been set up anywhere. There was no order to the stalls, either; clothing stalls were next to fruit stalls and tech stalls, everything just thrown together.

"Qhio Fi," Gwen replied as she fell into step beside Donna. "One of the best market places this side of the Utwierson Belt."

Soon, they reached a sort of town square, and Jack turned to face them.

"Ok," he told the crew, face stern. "We all have certain things we want or need to get from here, so I want everyone back here in one hour."

Everyone nodded.

"And you three," Jack continued, turning to look directly at Theta, Rose and Donna. "You three are not to wander off alone. Am I clear? We don't know if there's anyone from Torchwood around here."

Again, they nodded. And then, the group was dispersing. Ianto was heading off with Jack to buy groceries, Owen heading in the opposite direction to a stall boasting medical supplies.

"Come on, then," Tosh announced, shocking the three kids. "We need to get Rose some new clothes."

**~StormWolf10~**

As they made their way through the packed market, Theta looked around in awe. He was on an entirely different planet. Different foods, different smells, different accents and customs… And then, as they were pushed yet again, he felt Rose stumble beside him, and slip her hand into his. He gripped it tight, and glanced down to see that the twelve year old was struggling to get out of the way of people. Theta tugged her closer to him, hand still tight in his own, and he helped steer her after Gwen and Tosh. Eventually, they were led over to a stall, squeezing out of the ever-moving crowds like a cork popping out of a champagne bottle. Reluctantly, Theta and Rose let go of each other's hands as Gwen pulled her over to talk to the stallholder.

"We're looking for clothes, you see," Gwen explained. "Something that would fit a twelve year old girl?"

Theta tuned out after that, looking around the market. Every now and then, he heard Donna squealing over some clothing, or jewellery.

"Theta?"

Theta looked up at the sound of his name. He'd been examining some alien tech on the next stall along, but now he looked up, he realised he'd missed quite a lot. Rose was stood next to him, nervously tugging at the cream long-sleeved shirt she was wearing. She had on a pair of dark grey jodhpur breeches and a new grey waistcoat.

"What do you think?" she asked, biting her lip nervously.

"Looks great!" he announced with a grin, looking Rose up and down.

From somewhere behind him, he heard Donna clear her throat nervously, and, blushing, Theta returned his gaze to above Rose's shoulders.

"Yeah?" she asked nervously.

"Yeah," Theta told her, nodded and grinning. "Really suits you."

Rose grinned back.

"I'll just go tell Tosh and Gwen this is what I want, then," she announced, before turning and hurrying back to the other stall.

Theta watched her go, and all of a sudden, Donna appeared at his shoulder, an unimpressed look on her face.

"What?" he asked, tearing his gaze away from Rose.

"We've been through this, Theta," Donna responded, frowning at him. "She's young. She's underage. She's my sister. You can't… She's too young for you, at least for now, and you'll only break her heart."

Theta looked away at that.

"So never mind my heart, then?" he asked bitterly.

Donna rolled her eyes.

"Oh come on, Spaceman," she sighed. "You know what I mean! Rose is still so young, she doesn't really understand that once we're back on Astor, and once she's legal age, she'll be paired up with someone! She won't get a choice, we don't get a choice. We're selected."

"What if we don't go back?" Theta asked suddenly, eyes focused on the jewellery stall just along from where they were standing. Of their own accord, his feet began moving towards it.

With a huff, he heard Donna following.

"What do you mean 'what if we don't go back'?" Donna demanded.

"I mean," Theta responded, glancing at Donna before returning his gaze to the jewellery, "what if we don't go back? What if we keep running?" He paused, and looked over at Donna, a grin on his face, urging her to understand, to agree, to believe. "Donna, we could do anything we liked! Be with who we want to be with, marry who we want, chart our own course in life! We don't have to go back to Astor and be told who we can or can't fall in love with, what we can or can't do as a career! We have the whole Universe at our fingertips!"

Donna looked unconvinced. Theta reached for a silver necklace with a sterling silver star hanging from it, holding it in the palm of his hand, his fingers brushing it gently.

"They tried to pair me with you, you know," he announced quietly. "Well, Alex did. He assumed there was something between us."

He could feel Donna's incredulous expression without even looking up from the necklace in his hand.

"If we went back," Theta continued, voice soft, "you'd be forced to marry whoever had been picked out for you. Could be anyone. Could be Lance Bennett who put a spider down the back of your jumper, or could be that quiet kid with the glasses, or that kid with the constant cold. You have no idea who's waiting for you back there. And I have no idea who's waiting for me." He paused. "I just know it's not the person I want."

He felt Donna's gaze on him still, but could tell it had softened, become almost sympathetic. He wasn't sure he liked that. Wasn't sure he wanted her sympathy.

"Because the person I want," the Doctor continued, still staring at the silver star on the end of the necklace chain, "is right here with me. But I can't have her."

He paused, blinked, sniffed. And then he grinned and moved over to the stallholder, handing him the necklace.

"I'll take this, please."

**~StormWolf10~**

"There we are," Theta announced with a grin as he clasped the necklace shut around Rose's neck and let her hair fall back down. "Lovely!"

Rose grinned, and immediately reached for his hand. Tosh and Gwen had purchased her enough clothes to last quite a while, and they were heading back to meet up with Jack and the rest of the crew. Their hour was almost up, and the crowds were just as pushy, the path between stalls just as claustrophobic, the smells of the local delicacies just as pungent. But Rose and Theta didn't seem to notice. Donna watched them with a somewhat worried expression, eyes never leaving them even when she stumbled on the rough path. They were laughing and joking and chatting, holding hands and leaning close to each other. Theta would stoop every now and then, to whisper something in Rose's ear, and point. Each time, it was met with a giggle, or a nod from Rose, but Donna had no idea what they were talking about. It was all rather frustrating, really. She knew it would only end in heartbreak for the pair of them; Jack had agreed to take Theta on as a crewmember, if he so wished, but that would mean not seeing Rose. However, if he returned to Astor with them, he- like Donna- would be married off. Rose would be married off a few years later, to whichever young man agreed to take on such a troublesome young woman. They wouldn't be together, of that Donna was certain. And yet, Donna found herself inexplicably jealous; they, at least, had each other. She had no one. She'd never had the kind of relationship Theta and Rose seemed to be developing. She'd never had more than a crush. She'd always been too busy for that. Donna felt someone touch her arm, and forced herself to smile and nod as Tosh looked at her with concern. Not long after, they were back where they started, in the strange little town square. Jack was stood some way away, coat billowing out behind him and hands in his pockets, Owen and Ianto beside him.

"You're late."

"Only by a few minutes, Jack," Tosh frowned as they reached his side.

"But we don't know where Torchwood are," Jack responded, tone hard. "We don't know when or where they can turn up at any moment!"

"Oh come on, Jack," Gwen sighed. "Like they'd attack here! Too many witnesses about."

"I suppose," Jack responded slowly, eying Theta and Rose as they giggled and whispered to each other, oblivious of the people around them. "But we'd better get back to the ship now. Don't want to risk being too exposed."

**~StormWolf10~**

Jack led the way back to where the steamship was docked, Owen and Ianto behind him, followed by Theta and Rose, and then Gwen, Toshiko and Donna. Donna fought the urge to roll her eyes as she watched Theta and Rose walk along, bumping into each other deliberately, and giggling at passers-by.

"Did you see that one?!" Donna heard Theta ask, and she could tell he was grinning. "He had horns!"

"Not as scary as the one earlier," Rose responded.

"Oh, the lady with the bug-eyes?" Theta recalled with a grin.

"Yeah!" Rose nodded.

"Opened her mouth and fire came out!" Theta exclaimed, before spinning round to address Donna. "Donna! Did you see the fire-breathing bug-eyed lady?"

"Uh, no, can't say I did," Donna told them, shaking her head.

"Thought I was gonna get frazzled!" Rose added with a laugh.

"Oh, you missed a treat there, Red!" Theta announced with a grin. "Almost singed my hair!"

Donna managed a small smile, before nodding behind them to inform Theta and Rose they'd arrived back at the ship.


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: New chapter! We're over half way through this story now! Keep reviewing, and also, there's a 50****th**** anniversary trailer out now!**

They'd been drifting for some while when Rose spotted it. A small steamliner, smaller than the Boeshane Peninsula, just… Drifting. But unlike the Boeshane Peninsula, it wasn't drifting in a line; it was drifting all over the place. And as they got closer, Rose couldn't help the sneaking suspicion that something was wrong.

"Theta," Rose called over worriedly. "Come look at this."

She heard footsteps behind her, and moments later Theta was there, arms dangling over the sides of the ship as he frowned at the wrecked steamcutter they were heading towards.

"Looks like Torchwood's already been here," another voice announced, and moments later, Jack joined them.

"Do you think they're still around?" Rose asked worriedly, glancing up at the Captain.

Jack didn't respond, merely continued staring at the wrecked ship.

"We should help them," Theta announced suddenly.

That time, Jack did respond. His head whipped round to frown at Theta.

"And risk being ambushed again?" he asked the younger man with a cold look in his blue eyes. "I can't afford to lose any more crew members."

Theta scoffed, and rounded on Jack.

"I thought you wanted to be different from Torchwood, _Captain_?" Theta asked, glaring at the man. "Thought you wanted to prove that you're not all bad, that you're not the same people you were when you signed up to Torchwood. And yet, you're willing to potentially leave people to die, floating in space on their own. Just like Torchwood did."

Jack's jaw set. Rose swallowed, glancing between the two men. She really hoped there wouldn't be a fight. And then, Jack sighed, spun on his heels, and began making his way inside the ship.

"Owen! Ianto! Get ready; we may have casualties coming aboard!"

**~StormWolf10~**

The little steamcutter was in worse shape than the crew had initially realised. One side of the small ship had been totally blasted apart, and the name was only just visible: The Gemini. Swallowing, Jack secured his lifeline a little tighter around his waist, nodding to Owen and Theta to do the same. Ianto was watching in concern, ready with Owen's medical supplies once they brought any surviving crew members back onto the Boeshane Peninsula. Donna was there too, having refused to be confined to the galley, particularly when her friend was risking his life. It had fallen to Gwen to steer the ship close enough to the small steamcutter so that they could board it, and Tosh was yelling instructions to her to help. Rose, meanwhile, was only concerned about Theta.

"Just… Be careful, yeah?" she asked him nervously, watching as he secured his lifeline.

"Oh, I'm always careful, me!" Theta responded, flashing her a grin.

Rose managed a weak smile back, and looked over as Donna approached.

"Don't go doing anything stupid, yeah?" Donna told Theta, a small, worried smile on her face.

Theta nodded in understanding.

"I won't," he assured them.

And then, Jack was yelling at him to hurry up, that they were about to board the ship. Theta let out a slow breath.

"This is it, then," he murmured, smiling weakly at Donna and Rose.

"Yeah," Donna agreed quietly. "Just… Be careful."

Again, Theta nodded, tugging Rose and Donna into a brief hug. He could feel Jack's eyes burning into his back, knew the Captain was getting impatient, and reluctantly pulled out of the hug. Then, with a final glance and smile at his two best friends, he was walking towards the edge of the ship, climbing up. And then, eyes shut, he jumped…

**~StormWolf10~**

Rose watched and waited in silence, hand clamped tight around the little star on the necklace Theta had bought for her. Donna had already told her several times that, if she kept tugging at it, she'd snap the thin chain. But Rose was too nervous to listen. They all were. She, and Donna, and Gwen, and Toshiko, and Ianto. Tense silence filled the ship's deck, waiting for Jack or Theta or Owen to clamber back over the edge of the ship, grin, and assure them everyone was fine. Assure them that no one was hurt, that it had been an empty ship, with no casualties, and no Torchwood crew lying in wait for them.

"Do you think they're alright?" Donna asked quietly, breaking the silence with a small frown on her face.

Rose didn't reply, but instead just reached for her older sister's hand, her other hand still clamped tight around the charm on her necklace. The silence blanketed them again and then, there was a thump on the side of the ship. Another thump, and then Theta was clambering over the lip of the ship. Rose grinned, and went to rush forward, but the moment his feet touched the deck, Theta was turning, reaching back over the edge.

"I've got him," he called down to someone they couldn't see. "It's alright, I've got him!"

Ianto rushed forward, frown etched on his face, and together, he and Theta hauled a body over the edge of the ship. They lowered the person to the deck as best as possible, and then Owen was clambering over, helping to haul another body over onto the ship. Finally, Jack clambered over, but all the girls could do was stare. There were two men, sprawled on the deck of the Boeshane Peninsula, one with dark skin and short black hair, one with light skin and blonde hair. Both had bruising and cuts and scrapes littering their skin, their eyes shut and breathing shallow.

"Are they alright?" Gwen asked, already hurrying forward to try and offer any help she could.

"They will be," Owen responded, moving to lift one of the men as Jack helped. "Once we get them below deck and in bed."

**~StormWolf10~**

Rose had been sent to help Donna in the galley as she prepared a broth for the injured men. Ianto had been roped into helping carry one of the two injured men, and had left Donna in charge of the cooking. Whenever they'd helped Wilf with the dinner, back on Astor, Rose and Donna had always bickered and squabbled, flicking bits of food at one another and trying to trip each other up as they passed each other. But now, they worked in silence, side by side. It wasn't the time for petty squabbles, or for jokes and messing about. There were two very injured men onboard the ship, and there was the possibility that Torchwood was still lurking around, waiting to attack. It didn't bear thinking about, really, but they had nothing better to think about, other than the injured strangers. The silence was only broken when Gwen and Tosh came in to help the girls.

"How are they?" Rose asked in concern, compassion overruling her annoyance that Gwen and Tosh had been allowed to help with the injured men while she and Donna were left peeling carrots.

"They'll live," Toshiko replied quietly, face passive. "Owen's done all he can for them. Now all they can do is rest and heal."

"Have they woken yet?" Donna asked as she stirred the broth with a wooden spoon. "The broth's almost done, but I can leave it a little longer before serving."

"No need," came Jack's voice from the door. "They've woken up. Both a little groggy, but should liven up once we get some food in their stomachs."

Rose hurriedly helped Donna spoon the thick, steaming broth into two bowls, while Gwen and Tosh busied themselves with filling the water pitcher and collecting two tankards. That done, Jack led them down and towards the bedrooms. Rose was slightly surprised that they were entering Owen and Theta's room, but supposed it was nearest to Owen's medical supplies. The room was a little cramped with all the crew squeezed in there, and it was dark too. However, nobody seemed to be complaining, and Rose smiled a little nervously at the dark-skinned man now occupying what had previously been Theta's bed. Theta himself was sat on the wooden chair beside the desk, watching as Rose moved to hand the bowl of broth to the dark-skinned man while Donna moved towards the blonde man.

"Ladies," Owen spoke up once Donna and Rose had relinquished the bowls of broth, "this is Mickey Smith and Jake Simmonds. They're a little beat-up, but they'll be staying with us for the foreseeable future."

Both Rose and Donna nodded, not sure what they were expected to say. Mickey- the dark-skinned occupant of Theta's bed- seemed a little more alert that Jake, the blonde man. That poor man looked like he'd fall asleep in his broth at any moment.

"Thanks for this, you know," Mickey piped up, throat a little dry. "Thought we were going to die back there."

"Well," Jack responded with a slight shrug, "it's Rose you have to thank. She's the one that spotted your ship."

As he spoke, Jack nodded towards Rose, and Mickey grinned at her.

"Well then," Mickey continued. "Thank you, Rose."

Rose blushed and ducked her head, while Theta rolled his eyes.

**~StormWolf10~**

After dinner, with Ianto and Donna clearing away the dinner things, and Jack, Gwen, Tosh, Owen and Theta charting their next course so as to try and avoid Torchwood, Rose returned to Jake and Mickey's temporary bedroom.

"Why are you down here?" Jake asked, brow furrowing. "Thought your Captain said something about charting courses?"

Rose shrugged.

"They're a little reluctant to let me get involved in that," she responded quietly, before raising her voice and continuing. "Besides, thought I could keep you two company."

Jake snorted, and Mickey shot him a look.

"You want to ask questions, don't you?" Mickey asked, although he had a small smirk on his face.

Rose swallowed. Better to be honest, she decided. And so, she nodded.

"Why did Torchwood go after you? You're such a tiny crew! What would they gain?" Rose asked, brow furrowing the more she spoke.

And then, Mickey's face clouded. Startled, Rose looked to Jake, and saw the same reaction. The two men glanced at each other, before swiftly nodding.

"Rose, the Gemini was attacked because of the cargo we had onboard," Mickey explained slowly, tugging Rose over to sit on the edge of his bed.

"Weapons?" Rose asked innocently.

Jake snorted again, and Mickey grimaced.

"I… Suppose you could call them weapons, yes," he decided slowly after a few moments. "We work for an organisation that is against Torchwood. We're like a more moderate type of Space Pirate, working with other Space Pirates to try and bring Torchwood down. Only, like you said, we're small. So we're more for communications between larger groups of Space Pirates. Onboard our ship was proof of every Space Pirate Code that Torchwood has violated and abused."

"But how would that shut Torchwood down?" Rose asked in confusion. "Why would they listen to you saying they've violated the code?"

"It wouldn't, but it would turn their supporters against them," Jake announced, tone cold. "It would mean that we'd gain more support, get stronger, could fight them!"

"But there was more than just us two," Mickey continued quietly. "At first, there were more than just us two. There was Mrs Moore, who we picked up a year or two back. Torchwood destroyed her family. And then, then…"

"Then there was Rickey," Jake concluded quietly. "Mickey's twin brother."

"I'm sorry," Rose managed, wide-eyed as she reached to lay her hand on Mickey's arm.

He smiled weakly.

"Doesn't matter," he responded.

"Yeah, it does," Rose shot back. "How did they die?"

Mickey took a deep breath.

"Torchwood got to them, didn't they?" Jake bit out in annoyance, glaring at Rose like she'd just asked a really stupid question. Then, he began to mutter under his breath. "God. Stupid kid. Doesn't know a thing about Torchwood or how vile they are!"

Rose swallowed.

"Torchwood killed my parents," she told Jake calmly.

The man went silent.

**~StormWolf10~**

Owen had been able to repair many of the deep gashes that littered Jake's and Mickey's bodies, informing them that the Torchwood crew had obviously left them to bleed to death slowly, rather than kill them outright. That was what Torchwood liked, Jack had told them, to watch their captives suffer. Within days, thanks to Donna's broth and Owen's medical skills, both Jake and Mickey were out of bed and joining them in the galley for meals. Jack had used some sort of weird herb on them too, to help their broken bones heal faster. He'd had Ianto mash it up and put it in their food, and Rose had been more than a little concerned that some of it might accidentally end up on her plate. It hadn't though, and meals had become quite good fun, with Jake and Mickey chipping in stories about their own adventures.

It had been almost a week since they'd rescued Jake and Mickey when they'd spotted it. They were heading straight into the path of another steamliner, that just appeared to be drifting.

"Oh, not again," Jack sighed, with a swear word that was muffled by Theta clamping his hands over Rose's ears.

As they approached, however, the ship did not appear to be in any distress. The crew were even more alarmed when there was a thud, and they turned around to find a woman stood on the deck of their ship. She lifted her chin, tossed her long blonde hair over her shoulder, and looked down her nose at them.

"You Torchwood?" she asked, her somewhat posh accent at odds with her grammar.

"Not now, we're not," Jack responded, stepping forward and offering the woman his hand. "Captain Jack Harkness of the Boeshane Peninsula. It's an ex-Torchwood ship that we stole from Hartman."

The woman sniffed, and shook Jack's hand.

"Captain Reinette Poisson, of the SS Pompadour," Reinette responded, before looking up and down the deck appraisingly. Her gaze settled on the crew. "Bit of a rag-tag crew you have there, Captain," she smirked. "For someone who captured a Torchwood ship, I was expecting something a little more… Refined."

She pulled her hand from Jack's grasp, and walked towards the rest of the crew were standing. Her high-heeled, knee-high boots clicked on the wooden deck as she walked.

"What do we have then, hmm?" she asked, more to herself than the crew. "Two healthy-looking young men, look like they'd do well in a fight," she said as she passed Owen and Ianto. "Two capable young women," she continued as she passed Toshiko and Gwen. "Just what I'd expect from a crew of a ship like this. You two, on the other hand," she continued as she stopped at Mickey and Jake, "look like you should have been flung off at the previous space-port."

Both Jake and Mickey had thick bandages around their deeper cuts, Jake was sporting a black eye, and Mickey had a slight limp.

"We rescued them from a wreckage a few days ago," Jack cut in, eyeing the female Captain a little warily, as if unsure to flirt with her, or push her off his ship. "Our medic, Owen Harper has been treating them."

Reinette gave a slight nod, but made no move to comment. Instead, she moved along.

"Oh, you've got yourselves a strapping young cabin boy, haven't you?" she asked, smirking as she reached Theta. She glanced over her shoulder at Jack before returning her attention to the young man in front of her. "Little older than usual, but handsome. Can see why you kept him on."

Theta was grinning at Reinette like an idiot. Donna, beside him, rolled her eyes. Theta didn't notice, but Reinette did.

"We've got a right little madam here, haven't we?" Reinette announced in a voice dripping with patronisation. "Rolling your eyes at me, like you're better than me." She looked Donna up and down. "But by the looks of you, you're only a galley maid."

Donna's jaw clenched, and her hand was itching to slap the woman, but they didn't know how many crew members she had back on her own ship, or what she was planning to do with the Boeshane Peninsula now that she'd boarded it. It was then, however, that Reinette spotted Rose.

"Oh, sweet. What are you? The Captain's pet?" Reinette asked, stepping closer to Rose and staring down at her.

"No," Rose replied stiffly, jaw clenched as she stared defiantly up at Reinette. "I'm a crew member."

Reinette snorted at that, and walked away.

"You really shouldn't let them get ideas above their stations, Captain," Reinette told Jack with a smirk.

"She hasn't," Jack ground out, teeth gritted. "She _is_ a crew member."

Reinette raised an eyebrow at that.

Everyone was silent for several long moments.

"Why did you think we were Torchwood?" Owen asked after a few moments. "Aside from the ship, of course."

Reinette sniffed.

"Got a tip-off," she told them, lifting her chin slightly. "That Torchwood ships were in the area. They need to be stopped, of course, they're becoming too dangerous. Violated the Code."

"The Space Pirate Code?" Rose piped up, recalling her talk with Jake and Mickey.

A little shocked, Reinette nodded.

"So you're a pirate too?" Tosh asked, looking the girl up and down.

Reinette only smirked.

"What else would I be doing ambushing your ship?" the woman asked, tone tinged with slight amusement.

"Hang on," Jack said, frowning as he stepped forward. "You're working against, not for Torchwood?"

Reinette nodded, looking a little impatient.

"That is what I said, yes," she replied.

Jack nodded, and took a breath, eyes flitting to where Donna and Rose were stood, both with their jaws clenched as they glared at the new woman. Jack took a deep breath. Oh, they were going to hate him for this…

"Good. Because I think we need your help…"


End file.
